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H  I 


OF  THE 

Discovery  of  America , 


AND  OF  THEIR  MOST  REMARKABLE 

Engagements  with  the  Indians , 

■  Ik  NEW-ENGLAND, 


From  their  first  landing  in  1620,  until  the  fin r-i  suTiKv 
tion  of  tho  Natives  in  1679, 


TO  WHICH  IS  ANNEXED,  THE  DEFEAT.' OF 


Generals  Braddocky  Harmer 


■  *r 


..  M.;*  ■ ' 
0>  >  v  *,jii 


By  THE  INDIANS  at  the  WESTWARD  f 

•W  /  ■  /  .  ■  '  ?  '  1 

Jr  t  £  ■■  f  {■  J  s’  A*  T':. 

By  a  CITIZEN  of  CONNECTICUT,  -  ‘T  i 

<555*; 


• '  10.  ...  =, 
*1.^  ■  l  ■  '  {jr*1)* 


M  My  Countrymen-—  These  things  ought  not  to  be  •  forf.it  t$i\ 
for  the  benefit  of  our  Children,  and  those  that  follow ..V  ■■ 
they  should  be  recorded  in  History.”  Dr.*  Fr*ul  •: 


-**so&  Gfr  0;j:0  . 


N  O  R  W  ICH: 

Pahiisbed  for  the  Author  at  his  office^  ig  -  *..  ■ 


5  ■ 

cJs-' 


><Tr  :  ..'•..k!.T 

/<  *•  *  •*  ‘  Afr 


DISTRICT  of  cosmcncvz  to  wit  i. 


E  -IT  REBISMBRRED,  I  hat  m  the  twenty  fourth  day 
of  December >  in  the  thirty  fifth  year  of  the  lndc pend* 
awe  of  the  Untied  States  of  America.  HENRY  "l  RUM- 
BULL,  of  the  said-  District*  hath  deposited  in  this  Office 
the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  author  i  •. 
in  the  words  following,  to  wit  s— 4*  Misi-rj  of  the  Discover 
ry  of  .America— -of  the  Landing- of  our  Forefathers  at  Rly- 
'  Mouth*  and  of  their  most  remarkable  engagements  with  the 
Indians*  in  New-  England*  from  their  first  landing  in  1620* 
until,  the  final  subjugation  of  the  natives  in  1679— to  which 
is  annexed^  the  Defeat  of  Generals  Braddock*  Hammer  and 
'St.  Clair ,  by  the  Indians  at  the  Westward *  &c.—lsy  a  Csti * 
zen  of  Connecticut 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States*  entitled  «  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  learnings 
by  securing  the  copies  of  maps*  charts ,  and  books*  to  the 
authors  and-proprietors  of  such  copies ,  daring  the  times  there* 
imtioned.*’ 

Qerh  of  the  district  of  ‘C&meeitcut.* 


CHAP.  I. 


DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA , 

BY 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

JVIaNKIND  owe  the  discovery  of  th§  western  world 
to  the  gold,  the  silver,  the  precious  stones,  the  spices, 
silks,  and  costly  manufactures  of  the  East ;  aiid  even 
these  incentives  were  for  a  considerable  time,  insufficient 
to  prompt  to  the  undertaking,  although  the  most  skilful 
navigator  of  the  age  proffered  to  risk  his  life  in  the  at¬ 
tempt. 

Ch  ristofher  Columjsus,  who  was  destined  to  the 
high  honour  ol  revealing  a  new  hemisphere  to  Europe¬ 
ans,  was  by  birth  a  Genoese,  who  had  been  early  train¬ 
ed  to  a  seafaring  life,  and,  having  acquired  every  branch? 
of  knowledge  connected  with  that  profession,  was.no  let* 
distinguished  by  his  skill  and  abilities,  than  tor  hr.  intre¬ 
pid  and  persevering  spirit. — This  man,  when  about  for- 
-  ty  years  of  age,  had  formed  the  great  idea  of  reaching 
the  East  Indies  by  sailing  westward ;  but,  as  his  fortune* 
was  very  small,  and  the  attempt  required  very  effectual 
patronage,  desirous  that  his  native  country  should  profit 
by  his  success,  he  laid  his  plan  before  the  senate  of  Ge¬ 
noa,  but  the  scheme  appearing  chimerical,  it  was  i  eject¬ 
ed. — He  then  repaired  to  the  court  of  Portugal  ;  and  uU 
though  the  Portuguese  were  at  that  time  distinguished 
f^r  their  commercial  spirit,  and  John  II,  who  then  reign¬ 
ed,  was  a  discerning  and  enterprising  prince,  yet  the 
prepossessions  of  the  great  men  in  his  court,  to  whom 


,E 


vtwmKL'Wuaaa 


■ 

.••fit:.: 


fh'fe  matter  was  referred,  caused  Columbus  finally  to  fait 
i»  his  attempt  there  also*  He  next  applied  to  Feb ;di- 
n  and  and  Isabella,  king  and  queen  of  Arro'gon  sod 
Castile,  and  at  the  same  time  sent  his  brother  Barthol¬ 
omew  (who  followed  the  same  profession  ;  and  who  was 
well  qualified  to  fill  the  immediate  place  under  such  a 
leader)  to  England,  to  lay  the;  proposal  before-  Henry 
VII.  which  hke.wUe,  very  fortunately  for  the  future  well 
being  cf  the  country,  met  with  no  success. — Many  were 
the  years  which  Christ  other  Columbus  spent  in  inef¬ 
fectual  attendance  at  the  Castillian  court  5  the  imppver- 
i Hted  state  into  which  the  finances  of  the  united  king¬ 
doms  were  reduced,  the  war  with  Granada,  repressing 
every  disposition  to  attempt  to  great  designs  ;  but  the 
tvatybcmg  at  length  terminated,  the  powerful  mind  of 
Isabella  broke  through  all  obstacles  ;  she  declared  her- 
-self  the  patroness  of  Columbus,  whilst'  her  husband  Fee- 
.  lin  and',  declining  to  partake  as  an  adventurer,  in  the 
'  vovige,  only  gave  it  the  .sanction  of  his  name.  Thus 
did  the  superior  genius  of  a  women  effect  the  discovery 
-,r  x/i "-one  half  the  Globe  l 

The  ships  sent  on.  this  important  search  were  only 
Avce  m  number,  two  of  them  very  sgaali  :  they  had  nine- 
tv  men  on-  board.  Although  the  ex  pence  of  the  expedi* 
Goo  hitcV  long  remained,  the  sole  obstacle  to  its  being  uu- 
d'-voai yet,  when  every  thing  was  provided,  .the  cost 
ii\n  wot  ’a mount,  to  more  than  1 7.760  dollars,  apd  there 
'  were’  twelve  months  provision  put  on  board.  E  . 

CoivMms  set  sail  from  port  Palos,  in  the  province  of 
otPthe  3d  of  August,  1 492  ;  he  proceeded  to 
the  Canary  Islands,  and  from  thence  directed' his  course 
‘due  \V-  in'  life  latitude  of  about  AS  N*— ■  In  this  course  he 
.  v^QBtfwued  .fob  two  months,  without  'falling  in  wBh-  any 
'God,  w  'Aak  caused  such  a  spirit  of  discontent  end  m  di 
tiie  superior  address  and  p 


the  commander  became  unequal  to  suppress,  although 
for  these  qualities  he  Nvas  eminently  distinguished, -—He 
was  at  length  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  entering  into  a 
solemn  engagement  to  abandon  the  enterprize  and  return 
home,  if  land  did  not  appear  in  three  days.— Probably  he 
would  not  have  been  able  to  retain  his  people  so  long 
from  acts  of  violence  and  outrage,  in  pursuing  so  untri¬ 
ed  and  dreary  a  course,  had  they  not  been  sensible  that 
their  safety  in  returning  home,  depended  very  much  on 
his  skill  as  a  navigator,  in  conducting  the  vessel. 

At  length  the  appearance  of  land  changed  their  des¬ 
pondency  to  the  most  exulting  rapture, — It  was  an  island 
abounding  with  inhabitants,  both  sexes  of  which  were 
quite  naked ;  their  manners  kind,  gentle,  and  unsuspect¬ 
ing. — Columbus  named  it  San  Salvador:  it  is  one  of  the 
cluster  which  bears  the  general  name  of  Bahamia  ;  it  was 
only  3°  30  lat.  to  the  S.  of  the  island  of  Gomora,  one  of 
the  Canaries,  from  whence  he  took  his  departure.  This 
navigator  was  still  so  confirmed  in  the  opinion  which  he 
had  formed  before  he  undertook  the  voyage,  that  he  be¬ 
lieved  himself  then  to  be  on  an  island  -which  was  situated 
adjacent  to  the  Indies. — Proceeding  to  the  S.  he  saw  three 
other  islands,  which  he  named  St.  Mary  of  the  Concep¬ 
tion,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.— At  length  he  arrived  at  a 
yery  large  island,  and  as  he  had  taken  seven  of  the  na¬ 
tives  of  San  Salvador  on  board,  he  learned  from  them  it 
was  called  Cuba,  but  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Juanna.-— 
lie  next  proceeded  to  an  island  which  he  called  Espag- 
pola,  in  honour  of  the  kingdom  by  which  he  was  employ¬ 
ed,  and  it  still  bears  the  name  ot  Hispaniola.— Here  he 
built  a  foil  and  formed  a  small  settlement  ;  he  then  re¬ 
turned  home,  having  on  board  some  of  the  natives;  whom 
he  had  taken  from  the  different  islands  ;  steering  a  more 
southern  course,  he  fell  in  with  some  of  the,  Carribep 
UUmds-,  an*!  arrived  at  the  Port  of  Palos  on  the  I5.h 


<">“>»■  4j  *«*!«■ 

March,  149.3,  having  been  seven  months  and  eleven  daft 
on  this  moss:  important  voyage. 

On  his  arrival  letters  patent  were  issued  by  the  king 
and  queen  confirming  to  Columbus  and  to  his  heirs  all 
the  privileges  contained  in  a  capitulation  whkh  had  beep 
executed  before  his  departure,  and  his  family  was  enno¬ 
bled*. 

Not  .o rdf  the  Spaniards,  hut  the  other  nations  of  Em 
rape,  seem  to  have  adopted  the  opinion  of  Columbus, 
in  considering;  the  countries  which  he  had  discovered,  as 
a  part  of  India* -—Whence  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
gave  them  the  name  “  Indies’’  in  the  ratification  of  the  it 
former  agreement  with  Colujibus.— Even  after  the  er¬ 
ror  wm  detected,  the  name  was  retained,  and  the  appei* 
latino  of  P  West-XndieV*-  is.  now  given  b y  all  Europe  to 
this  country,  and  that  of  Indians  .to*  the  inhabitants* 

Nothing  could  possibly  tend  tnore  effectually  to-  rouse- 
every  active  principle  of  human  nature,  than  the  discove¬ 
ries  which  Columbus,  had  made  ;  no  time  was  therefore 
•lost,  nor  expence  spared,  in  preparing  a  fleet  of  ships, 
with  which  this  great  man  should  revisit  the  countries 
he  had  made  know  n* — Seventeen  ships  were  got  ready 
in  sits  months,  ‘  and  .fifteen  buudred  persons  embarked  on 
board  them,  among  whom  were  many  of  noble  families, 
and  who  had  filled  honorable  stations*— These  engaged 
in  the  enterprise  from  the  expectation  that  the  new  dis¬ 
covered  country  was  either  the  Cipango  of  Marco  Paulo, 
or  the  OpHir  from  tfhich  Solomon  obtained  his  gold 
i mi  precious  merchandize/"  ¥temNAKn,  now  desirous 
of  securing  what  he  had  before? been  unwilling  to  venture 
for  the  obtaining,  applied  to  the  -Pope  to  be  invested  with 
a-righttn  these  new  discovered  countries,  as  well  as  to'  - 
a]!  future  discoverids-vin  that  direction ;  but  as  it  was  ne¬ 
cessary  that  there  should  be  some  favor  of  rd%bn  in  the 
lie  founded  his  plea  on.  a  desire .  of  converting 


the  savage  natives  to  the  Romish  faith,  which  plan  had 
its  desired  effect. 

Alexander  VI.  who  then  filled  the  papal  chair,  it 
ought  to  be  mentioned,  was  the  most  profligate  and  aban¬ 
doned  of  men  :  being  a  native  of  Arragon,  and  desirous 
of  conciliating  the  favor  of  Ferdinand,  for  the  purpose 
of  aggrandizing  his  family,  he  readily  granted  a  request, 
which,  at  no  expence  or  risk,  tended  to  extend  the  con¬ 
sequence  and  authority  of  the  papacy  :  he  therefore  be¬ 
stowed  on  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  all  the  coun¬ 
tries  inhabited  by  infidels,  which  they  had  discovered.” 
But  as  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  this  grant  from  inter¬ 
fering  with  one  not  long  before  made  to  the  crown  of 
Portugal,  he  appointed  that  a  line  supposed  to  be  drawn 
from  pole  to  pole,  one  hundred  leagues  to  the  westward 
of  the  Azores  should  serve  as  a  limit  between  them  ;  and 
in  the  pientitude  of  his  power,  conferred  all  to  the  east 
of  this  imaginary  line  upon  the  Portuguese,  and  all  to 
the  west  of  it  upon  the  Spaniards. 

Columbus  set  sail  on  his  voyage  from  the  port  of  Ca¬ 
diz,  on  the  25th  of  September,  1493  ;  when  he  arrived 
at  St.  Espagnioia,  he  had  the  affliction  to  find  that  all  the 
Spaniards  whom  he  had  left  there*  amounting  to  thirty- 
six  in  number,  had  been  put  to  death  by  the  natives,  in 
revenge  for  the  insults  and  ou! rages  which  they  had  com¬ 
mitted.— After  having  traced  out  the  plan  of  a  town  in  a 
2arge  plain,  near  a  spacious  bay,  and  given  it  the  name 
of  I  sabella,  in  honor  of  his  patroness  the  queen  of  Cas¬ 
tile,  and  appointed  his  brother  Don  Diego,  to  preside 
as  Deputy  Governor  in  his  absence,  Columbus,  on  the 
24th  of  April,  1494,  sailed  with  one  ship  and  two  small 

barks,  to  make  further  discoveries  in  those  seas. — -In 
this  voyage  he  was  employed  five  months,  and  fell  irt 

with  many  small  islands  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  but  with 
Bone  of  any  importance  except  the  island  of  Jamaica# 


Soon  after  his  return  to  Hispaniola,  he  resolved  id 
make  war  with  the  Indians,  who  according  to  the  Span¬ 
ish  historians,  amounted  to  100,000  men  ;  these  having 
experienced  every  lawless  act  of  violence  from  their  in¬ 
vaders,  were  rendered  extremely  inveterate,  and  thirsted 
for  revenge,  a  disposition  which  appears  to  have  been 
foreign  from  their  natures.— Having  collected  his  full 
force,  he  attacked  them  by  night,  whilst  they  were  as¬ 
sembled  on  a  wide  plain,  and  obtained  a  most  decisive 
victory,  without  the  loss  of  one  man  on  his  part. — Be¬ 
side  the  effect  of  cannon  and  fire  arms,  the  noise  of 
which  was  appalling,  and  their  effect  against  a  nume¬ 
rous  body  of  Indians,  closely  drawn  together,  in  the 
highest  degree  destructive,  Columbus  had  brought 
over  with  him  a  small  body  of  cavalry.— -The  Indians 
who  had  never  before  seen  such  a  creature,  imagined 
the  Spanish  horses  to  be  rational  beings,  and  that  each 
with  iu  rider  formed  but  one  animal  ;  they  were  aston¬ 
ished  at  their  speed,  and  considered  their  impetuosity 
and  strength  as  irresistible. — In  this  onset  they  had  be¬ 
side  another  formidable  enemy  to  terrify  and  destroy 
them  :  a  great  number  of  the  largest  and  fiercest  species 
of  dogs  which  were  then  bred  in  Europe,  had  been 
brought  hither,  which,  set  on  by  their  weapons,  with¬ 
out  attempting  resistance,  they  fled  with  all  the  speed 
which  terror  could  excite.— Numbers  were  slain,  and 
more  made  prisoners,  who  were  immediately  consigned 
to  slavery. 

The  character  of  Columbus  stands  very  high  in  the 
estimation  of  mankind  ;  he  is  venerated  not  only  as  a 
man  possessing  superior  fortitude,  and  such  a  steady 
perseverance,  as  no  impediments,  dangers  or  sufferings* 
could  shake,  but  as  equally  distinguished  for  piety  and 
virtue.-rHis  second  son  Ferdinand,  who  wrote  the  life 
of  his  father,  apologises  for  this  severity  towards  the  na- 


tives,  on  account  of  the  distressed  state  into  which  the 
colony  was  brought :  the  change  of  climate,  and  the  in¬ 
dispensable  labors  which  were  required  of  men  unac¬ 
customed  to  any  exertions,  had  swept  away  great  num¬ 
bers  of  the  new  settlers,  and  the  survivors  were  declin¬ 
ing  daily,  whilst  such  was  the  irreconcilable  enmity  of 
the  natives,  that  the  most  kind  and  circumspect  conduct 
on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  would  not  have  been  effec¬ 
tual  to  regain  their  good  will.— This  apology  seems  to 
have  been  generally  admitted,  for  all  modern  writers 
have  bestowed  upon  the  discoverer  of  the  new  world  the 
warmest  commendations  unmixed  with  censure, —  It  is  an 
unpleasant  task  to  derogate  from  exalted  merit,  and  to 
impute  a  deliberate  plan  oPcruesty  and  extirpation  to  a 
man  revered  for  moral  worth  ;  but  although  a  pert  af¬ 
fectation  of  novel  opinions  could  only  originate  in  weak 
minds,  and  can  be  countenanced  only  by  such,  yet  a  free 
and  unreserved  scrutiny  of  facts,  can  alone  seperate  truth 
from  error,  and  apportion  the  just  and  intrinsic  degree 
of  merit  belonging  to  any  character,*— That  Columbus 
had  formed  the  design  of  waging  offensive  war  against 
the  Indians,  and  reducing  them  to  slavery,  before  he  en¬ 
tered  upon  his  second  voyage,  and,  consequently  before 
he  was  apprized  of  the  destruction  of  the  people  which 
he  had  left  upon  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  may  be  infers 
fed  from  his  proceeding  himself  with  such  a  number  of 
fierce  and  powerful  dogs. 

Having  found  the  natives  peaceable  and  Well  disposed, 
jbe  had  no  reason  to  apprehend  that  they  would  com- 
mence  unprovoked  hostilities  ;  the  cavalry  which  he  took 
over,  whilst  it  tended  to  impress  those  people  with  the 
deepest  awe  and  veneration,  was  fully  sufficient  for  the 
security  of  the  new  colony,  if  the  friendship  of  the  na^ 
kives  had  been  sincerely  meant  to  be  cultivated  by  a  kind 

and  equitable  deportment ;  but  to  treat  them  as  &  free 

B 


10 


people  was  inconsistent  wi  di  the  views  which  led  to 
planting  a  colony  ;  for  as  the  grand  incentive  to  under¬ 
take  the  distant  voyages  was  the  hope  of  acquiring  gold? 
SO)  as  Columbus  had  seer;  Some  worn  as  ornaments  by 
the  natives,  and  had  been  inh  nned  that  the  mountain¬ 
ous  parts  of  the  country  yielded  that  precious  metal,  he 
had  excited  expectations  in  his  employers,  and  in  the  na¬ 
tion  at  large,  which  both  his  interest  and  ambition  com¬ 
pelled  him  as  far  as  possible  to  realize  *.  the  Spaniards 
could  not  obtain  gold  without  the  assistance  of  the  na¬ 
tives,  and  those  were  so  constimtoaa’ly  indolent  that  no 
allurements  of  presents  or  gratifications  could  excite  them 
to  labor.— To  resque  himself  therefore  from  disgrace, 
and  to  secure  further  support,  he  seems  deliberately  to 
have  devoted  a  harmless  race  of  men  to  slaughter  and 
slavery  — Such  as  survived  the  massacre  of  that  dreadful 
day,  and  preserved  their  freedom,  fled  inio  the  moun¬ 
tains  and  inaccessible  parts  of  the  island  which  not  yield¬ 
ing  them  sufficient  means  of  subsistence,  they  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  obtain  a  portion  of  food  from  their  cruel  pur¬ 
suers,  by  procuring  gold  dust,  in  order  to  support  life  ; 
a  tribute  being  imposed  upon  them  which  was  rigorously 
exacted. — These  wretched  rema’nsof  a  free  people;  thus 
driven  from  fruitfulness  and  amenity  ,  compelled  to  la¬ 
bour  for  the  support  ‘fff'life  :  a  prey  to  despondency, 
which  the  recollection  of  their  former  happiness  sharpen¬ 
ed,  and  which  their  hopeless  situation  rendered  unsup- 
portable,  died  in  great  numbers,  Ukz  innocent,  but  unre¬ 
venged  victims  of  European  av&rrce. — Such  are  the  facts 
which  have  ever  been  admitted,  yet,  strange  contradic¬ 
tion  I — Columbus  is  celebrated  for  his  humanity  and 
croodness  1  but  should  he  not  rather  be  considered  as  a 
roost  consummate  dissembler  ;  professing  moderation' 
whilst  he  meditated  subversion,  and,  like  most  of  the 
heroes  and  conquerors  whom  history  records,  renouncing 


every  principle  of  justice  and  humanity  when  they  stop¬ 
ped  the  career  of  his  ambition  !— Ferdinand  Colum¬ 
bus,  his  £oo,  and  biographer,  has  with  great  address 
covered  the  shame  of  his  father,  whilst  the  adorning 
world  has  been  little  disposed  to  censure  a  man,  the 
splendor  of  whose  actions  so  powerfully  fascina.es  ant- 
dazzles. 


'  CHAP.  II. 

I  LANDING  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS, 

At  PLYMOUTH, 

-  THE  English,  conducted  by  John  Cabot,  in  the 
year  1497,  found  the  way  to  North- America  soon  after 
Columbus  had  successfully  crossed  the  Atlantic  j  but  as 
the  torrents  in  that  country  brought  down  no  gold,  and 
the  Indians  'wtre  not  bedecked  with  any  costly  ornaments, 
no  attempts  were  made  to  explore  the  country  for  near  a 
century  after  its  discovery.-—  Air  Fk ancis  Deals,  who 
traversed  the  whole  circumference  oi  the  globe  in  one 
voyage,  and  in  one  ship,  which  had  never  been  atchieved 
before,  when  afterward  annoying  the  Spaniards  in  the 
West-Indies,  and  on  the  main,  gained  some  knowledge 
of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  northern  consilient,  as  he  iiuci 
before  of  the  western  parts  about  the  same  parallel 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  however,  was  the  first  navigator 
who  explored  the  coast,  bestowed  on  it  a  name,  and  at¬ 
tempted  to  settle  a  colony. 

At  that  time  colon. zation  made  no  part  of  the  system' 
cf  government,  so  that  there  were  few  siimulents  to  aban¬ 
don  a  native  soil  for  the  purpose  oi  seeking  possessio,>s;Lv 
another  hemisphere.  —  At  length  a  powerful  incentive 
arose,  stronger  than  the  influence  of  kings,  - than  tbs' 


l  S*-=» 


of  ease,  than  the  dread  of  misery.— Religion,  which  hail 
long  been  convened  into  the  most  powerful  engine  which, 
human  subtlety  ever  made  use  of  to  subjugate  the  mass 
of  mank.nd,  no  sooner  ceased  to  be  so  perverted,  than  by 
its  own  proper  force  it  compelled  large  bodies  of  people 
to  renounce  every  pi  esetu  enjoyment,  the  instinctive  love 
of  a  native  soil,  rooted  habits,  and  dearest  connexions, 
|ind  to  settle  in  the  dreary  wiids  of  a  far  distant  continent. 

When  England,  by  a  very  singular  concurrence  of  cir¬ 
cumstances,  threw  off  the  papal  yoke,  slate  policy  so  pre¬ 
dominated  in  the  measure,  that  the  consciences  of  men 
were  slid  required  to  bend  to  the  discipline,  conform  to 
the  ceremonials,  and  ascent  to  the  doctrines  which  the 
governing  powers  established. — Although  a  dissent  from 
the  church  of  Rome  was  considered  as  meritorious,  yet 
a  dissent  from  the  church  of  England  was  held  to  be  he¬ 
retical,  and  an  ( {fence  to  be  punished  by  the  civil  magis¬ 
trate. — The  human  mind,  somewhat  awakened  from  a 
long  suspension  of  its  powers  by  a  Wickcliffe ,  farther  en¬ 
lightened  by  an  Erasmus  and  Melanthon ,  and  at  length 
called  forth  into  energy  by  the  collision  of  those  two  ar¬ 
dent  and  daring  spirits,  Luther  and  Calvin,  then  be¬ 
gan  to  bend  ali  its  attention  towards  religious  enquiries  ; 
and  exercised  all  its  powers  in  such  pursuits. — Hence 
atose  a  vast  diversity  of  opinions,  which  gave  rise  to  nu¬ 
merous  sects  and  denominations  of  Christians,  but  as  the 
protestant  establishment  in  England,  held  it  essential  to 
preserve  a  unity  of  faith,  those  novel  opinions  obtained 
no  more  quarter  there  than  under  papal  power. 

In  the  year  1610,  a  company  of  the  persecuted  re¬ 
ligionists,  composing  the  church  of  a  Mr.  Robinson, 
having  previously  determined  to  remove  to  a  country 
where  they  might  be  enabled  to  worship  God,  agreeable 
to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences,  emigrated  to  Hol- 
kad,  and  settled  in  the  city  of  Leyden  ;  where  they  con* 


tinued  to  reside  until  the  year  1620.  Although  the  ee- 
clesiastical  laws  of  Holland  did  not  at  this  time  sanction 
or  condemn  the  principles  of  any  particular  sect  of  Chris¬ 
tians,  yet  great  were  the  disadvantages  under  which  Che 
emigrants  laboured  ;  for  notwithstanding  the  Dutch  gave 
them  a  welcome  reception,  and  manifested  a  disposition 
to  treat  them  with  great  respect,  they  never  could  be 
prevailed  upon  by  the  former  to  conform  to  their  mode 
of  worship,  or  to  renounce  principles  which  the  English 
conceived  destructive  to  moral  society; — nor  did  the  em¬ 
igrants  here  succeed  in  other  respects  agreeable  to  their 
views — so  far  from  increasing  their  little  flock,  they  found 
that  in  the  course  of  ten  years,  they  had  experienced  a 
diminution  of  more  than  one  half  their  original  number- 
many,  in  consequence  of  the  impoverished  state  of  the 
country,  had  spent  their  estates  and  returned  to  England. 
Hence  it  was  that  the  remaining  few  formed  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  attempting  once  more  to  seek  a  country  bet¬ 
ter  adapted  to  their  pious  purposes,  and  such  as  would 
promise  a  more  fruitful  abode  to  their  offspring.  By 
some  the  unexplored  parts  of  America  was  proposed, 
and  after  a  day  set  apart  for  solemn  humiliation  and  praise 
to  Almighty  God,  it  was  resolved  that  a  part  of  the 
church  should  first  emigrate  to  America,  and  if  there 
meeting  with  a  favourable  reception,  should  prepare  an 
abode  lor  the  remainder. 

They  easily  obtained  a  royal  grant  of  a  very  extensive 
tract  of  land  (now  called  New-England)  whither  they  ill- 
tended  to  repair,  not  to  amass  wealth,  or  to  exterminate 
the  inhabitants,  but  to  subsist  by  industry,  to  purchase 
security  by  honourable  intercourse  with  the  natives;  and 
to  acquire  strength  under  the  auspices  of  freedom. 

They  made  a  pu  chase  ol  two.small  ships  and  on  the 
bth  August,  1620,  having  repaired  to  Plymou  h  (Eng.) 
lor  the  purpose,  were  in  readiness  to  embark ;  previous 


14— 


to  which  they  were  very  affectionately  addressed  by  their 
pious  pastor  (Dr.  Robinson)  who  in  fervent  prayer  com* 
mended  them  to  the  holy  keeping  of  Him,  who  rules  the 
destines  of  all  men. 

At  1 1  A.  M.  with  a  fair  wind  they  set  sail,  and  bid  a- 
dieu  forever  to  their  native  country.  Nothing  material 
occurred  to  obstruct  their  passage  until  the  20th,  when 
lhev  experienced  a  tremendous  gale,  which  threatened 
them  with  instant  destruction  ! — for  three  days  succes¬ 
sively  they  were  tossed  about  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves 
—-‘'he  fehips  were  however  enabled  to  keep  company  until 
the  storm  had  somewhat  abated,  when  those  on  board 
one  of  them  conceiving  their  vessel  no  longer  seaworthy, 
abandoned  her  and  were  received  on  board  the  other. 

On  the  10th  November,  they  to  their  inexpressible 
joy,  discovered  land,  which  proved  lo  be  that  of  Cape 
Cod,  where  they  with  much  difficulty  the  day  following 
succeeded  in  landing' — as  soon  as  on  shore  they  fell  upon 
their  knees  and  returned  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for  en¬ 
able  mg  them  to  reach  in  safety  iheir  place  of  destination. 
•—But,  although  they  had  thus  far  succeeded  in  their 
views,  although  they  had  been  enabled  to  flee  fromqier- 
secution,  to  cross  a  wide  and  boisterous  ocean,  what  was 
their  situation  now  1 — sojourners  in  a  foreign  land  !-- 
traversing  the  broken  and  unwrought  shores  of  a  wild 
and  unexplored  country  !  —they  found  here  no  friends  to 
welcome  them,  or  house  to  shelter  them  from  the  in¬ 
clemency  of  an  approaching  winter  ! — on  one  side  they 
beheld  nought  but  a  hideous  and  desolate  wilderness,  the 
habitation  of  wild  gnd  veracious  animals,  and  probably 
the  abode  of  a  race  of  beings  not  less  wild  and  unmerci¬ 
ful  ! — on  the  other,,  the  briny  ocean  foaming  and  with 
tremendous  roar  dashing  against  the  huge  and  projecting 
rock which  as  tar  as  the  eye  could  percei marked 
the  sea -beaten  shores  ! 


15— 


After  succeeding  with  much  difficulty  in  discovering  a 
harbour  in  which  their  ship  could  ride  with  safety,  they 
made  choice  of  ten  of  the  most  resolute  of  their  num¬ 
ber  to  explore  the  adjacent  country,  and  discover  if  pos¬ 
sible  a  more  convenient  place  for  their  future  abode; 
who,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  provided  with  a  musk¬ 
et  each,  set  out  for  this  purpose — they  had  not  penetra¬ 
ted  the  woods  above  three  miles  when  they  discovered 
five  of  the  natives  (which  were  the  first  seen  by  them 
since  their  arrival)  they  were  cloathtd  with  the  skins  of 
animals,  and  armed  with  bows  and  arrows— the  English, 
with  signs  of  friendship  made  toward  them,  but  were 
no  sooner  discovered  by  the  savages,  than  they,  with  a 
terrible  yell,  fled  with  the  greatest  precipitancy  night 
approaching,  the  English  erected  a  small  temporary  en¬ 
campment  and  after  placing  their  sentinels  retired  to  rest* 
Early  the  ensuing  morning  they  continued  their  journey, 
following  for  a  considerable  distance  the  tracts  of  the  five 
Indians  above  mentioned,  in  hopes  thereby  to  discover 
their  habitations  and  obtain  therefrom  a  fresh  supply  of 
provision,  of  which  they  v^ere  much  in  want ;  but  in  this 
they  did  not  fully  succeed.  At  about  noon  they  arrived 
at  an  extensive  plat  of  clear  ground,  near  which  they 
discovered  a  pond  of  fresh  water,  and  several  small  hil¬ 
locks  ot  raised  earth,  which  they  conjectured  to  be  the 
graves  of  the  Indians — proceeding  a  little  further  west 
they  discovered  a  large  quantity  of  stubble,  which  they 
imagined  to  be  that  of  some  kind  of  Indian  grain  pecu¬ 
liar  to  the  country  ;  they  also  discovered  a  spot  where 
they  suspected  an  Indian  hut  had  recently  stood,  as  they 
found  nearby  some  planks  curiously  vvrought  and  a  small 
earthern  pot — proceeding  still  far  her  they  discovered  a 
number  more  of  the  little  hillocks  of  broken  ground  as 
above  described,  and  which  they  now  began  to  sus  ><  ct 
to  be  the  place  of  deposit  of  something  more  than  the 


dead  !•— cmiosity  leading  them  to  examine  more 
one  of  these  what  they  had  before  supposed  to  be  Indian 
sepulchres,  they  to  their  great  surprize,  found  it  to  con¬ 
tain  a  large  quantity  of  the  Indian  grain  (corn)  above 
mentioned  ! — it  was  still  in  the  ear,  and  excited  to  no 
sma'l  degree  the  curiosity  of  the  English,  as  they  had 
never  before  seen  any  thing  of  the  kind — by  a  few  of  the 
company  the  discovery  was  deemed  of  importance,  but 
by  others  (who  had  attempted  to  eat  of  the  corn  in  its 
raw  state)  it  was  pronounced  indifferent  food,  of  little 
value  ! — they  however  concluded  it  best  to  return  and 
make  known  the  discovery  to  their  brethren. 

Having  succeeded  with  some  difficulty  in  reaching  the 
place  from  which  they  started,  they  were  met  by  those 
whom  they  had  left  behind  with  the  most  unspeakable 
joy  and  satisfaction  s  to  whom  they  exhibited  a  specimen 
of  the  grain  which  they  had  found,  and  recommended 
the  spot  from  which  it  was  p  ocured,  as  the  most  con¬ 
venient  and  suitable  at  which  to  abide  through  the  ap¬ 
proaching  winter.  The  company  accordingly  on  the 
25 ih  proceeded  for  and  in  safety  reached  the  place  above 
mentioned,  w'ith  which  being  so  much  pleased,  they* 
termed  New  Plymouth,  in  remembrance  of  the  port  at 
which  they  last  embarked  in  Europe  ; — here  they  con¬ 
cluded  to  abide  until  such  time  as  further  discoveries 
could  be  made — they  erected  a  few  temporary  huts,  suf¬ 
ficient  to  shelter  them  from  the  weather,  and  soon  after 
by  mutual  consent  entered  into  a  solemn  combination, 
as  a  body  politick  ;  and  on  the  10th  December  assembled 
to  form  for  themselves  such  a  government  and  laws  as 
they  should  deem  the  most  just  and  equitable  ;  previous 
to  which,  the  following  instrument  was  drawn  up,  which 
being  first  read  and  assented  to  by  the  company,  receiv¬ 
ed  their  signatures  :--to  wit : 

IN  the  name  of  Gon,  amen— We  whose  names  are 


4 


underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign 
king  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  Great-Britain, 
France  and  Ireland,  and  defender  of  the  faith,  See.  hav¬ 
ing  undertaken  for  the  glory  of  God,  advancement  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  the  honour  of  our  king  and  country, 
a  voyage  to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of 
America,  do  by  these  presents  solemnly  and  mutually, 
in  the  presence  of  God,  and  one  another,  covenant  and 
combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civil  body  politic,  far 
our  own  convenience  and  the  preservation  and  support 
of  the  ends  aforesaid  -and  by  virtue  hereof,  do  enact, 
constitute  and  frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinan¬ 
ces,  acts,  constitutions  and  officers,  from  time  to  rime* 
as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the 
general  good  of  the  colony — unto  which  we  promise  all 
due  submission  and  obedience.— -In  witness  whereof  we. 


have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names, 
on  the  10th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1620 


John  Carver, 
William  Bradford, 
Edward  Winslow, 
William  Brewster, 
Isaac  Allerion, 
Miles  Slandisb, 
Joseph  Fletcher, 
John  Goodman, 
Samuel  Fuller, 
Christopher  Martin, 
William  White, 
Richard  Warren, 
John  Howland, 
Stephen  Hopkins, 
Didgery  Priest, 
Thomas  Williams, 
Gilbert  Winslow, 
Edmund  Morgeson, 
Peter  Brown, 


at  New-PJymoaih# 

John  Alders, 

John  Turner, 

Francis  Eaton,  . 

James  Chilton,  m 
John  Cmxton, 

John  Biliingion, 
Richard  Bitteridge, 
George  Soule, 

Edward  Tilley, 

John  Tilley, 

Thomas  Rogers, 
Thomas  Tinker, 

John  Ridgdale, 

Edward  Fuller, 

Richard  Clarke, 
Richard  Gardiner, 

John  Allerion, 

Thomas  English, 
Edward  Liester. 


The  company  next  proceeded  by  ballot  to  the  choicp 
G 


—  18— 


of  a  Governor,  and  on  counting  the  Votes  it  appeared 
that  John  Carver  had  the  greatest  number  and  was 
declared  chosen  for  one  year. 

On  the  19th  December,  Mrs.  Susannah  White,  the 
wife  of  William  White,  was  delivered  of  a  son,  which 
was  the  Jirst  born  of  the  English  in  New  England. 

On  the  21st  it  was  agreed  by  the  company  to  dispatch 
a  second  exploring  party,  by  water,  to  make  if  possible 
further  discoveries — the  persons  selected  for  this  purpose 
were  Governor  Carver,  Messrs.  Bradford,  Winslow, 
Standish,  Howland,  Warren,  Hopkins.' Allerton, 
Tilley,  Clarke,  Tinker,  Turner  and  Brown  they 
embarked  at  10  A.  M.  with  a  view  of  circumnavigating 
the  deep  bay  of  Cape  Cod.— On  the  morning  of  the  23d 
they  discovered  a  large  party  of  the  natives  on  shore, 
who  were  employed  in  cutting  up  a  fish  resembling  a 
grampus;  by  order  of  Governor  Carver,  the  English 
made  immediately  for  the  shore,  but  were  no  sooner  dis¬ 
covered  by  the  Indians,  than  they,  with  a  yell  peculiar  to 
savages,  deserted  their  fish  and  fied  with  precipitancy  I— * 
The  English  landed  and  took  possession  of  the  fish, 
which,  having  enkindled  a  fire,  they  cooked  and  found 
to  be  excellent  food  ; — they  concluded  to  continue  en¬ 
camped  here  through  the  night,  and  while  employed  (a 
few  rods  from  their  boat  in  which  their  arms  were  depos¬ 
ited)  in  erecting  a  temporary  dwelling  for  the  purpose, 
they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  a  large  party  of  the  na¬ 
tives,  who  discharged  a  shower  of  arrows  among  them  ! 
—the  English,  nearly  panic  struck  at  so  sudden  and  un¬ 
expected  an  onset,  were  on  the  eve  of  retreating  to  their 
boat,  whey  they  were  reminded  by  their  Governor  (a 
brave  and  experienced  man)  of  the  importance  of  facing 
the  enemy,  and  maintaining  their  ground,  as  a  precipi¬ 
tate  flight  might  prove  their  total  destruction — in  the 
time  two  or  three  of  the  company  were  dispatched 


for  their  arms,  which  having  obtained,  the  whole  were 
ordered  to  form  a  close  body  and  proceed  with  moderate 
pace  for  the  boat,  and  if  hard  pushed  by  the  natives,  to 
face  about  and  give  them  the  contents  of  their  muskets  ; 
—the  Indians  perceiving  the  English  retiring,  rushed 
from  their  strong  coverts,  and  were  on  the  point  of  at¬ 
tacking  them  in  the  rear  with  clubs,  hatchets,  stones,  &c. 
when  they  received  the  fire  of  the  latter,  which  brought 
three  or  four  of  them  to  the  ground* — the  Indians  halted,, 
viewed  for  a  few  moments  with  marks  of  astonishment 
and  surprize,  their  wounded  brethren,  and  then  with  one 
general  united  yell  (which  probably  might  have  been 
heard  at  the  distance  of  three  miles)  fled  in  every  direc¬ 
tion  !— this  was  the  first  engagement  between  the  English 
and  natives  in  New  England ,  and  probably  the  first  time 
that  the  latter  had  ever  heard  the  report  ofi  a  musket  l 
The  English  embarked  and  returned  immediately  to 
New-PIymouth,  having  been  absent  four  days  without 
making  any  important  discoveries.  The  company  des¬ 
pairing  of  making  any  further  discovery  of  importance 
during  the  winter,  concluded  to  remain  at  their  winter 
quarters  until  the  spring  ensuing.  The  winter  proved 
an  uncommonly  tedious  one,  during  which  a  great  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  company  sickened  and  died— -unaccustom¬ 
ed  to  hardship,  and  deprived  of  many  of  the  necessaries 
of  life,  they  fell  victims  to  the  inclemency  of  the  season  ; 
—being  thus  reduced  to  a  very  small  number,  they  woo'd 
have  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  savages,  had  the  latter 
(relying  on  the  superiority  of  their  strength)  attacked 
them — but  the  natives  having  by  bitter  experience  learn¬ 
ed  the  effects  of  their  fire-arms,  although  they  were  daily 
seen  by  the  English  at  a  distance,  not  one  of  them  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  approach  them  within  gun  shot,  un¬ 
til  about  the  20th  March,  1621,  when  to  their  great  sur¬ 
prise,  an  Indian  came  boldly  up  to  them  and  addressed 


them  in  broken  English  1 — he  informed  them  that  he  be* 
longed  lo  an  eastern  pari  of  the  country,  and  was  ac¬ 
quainted' with  a  number  of  their  countrymen,  who  came 
frequently  there  to  procure  fish,  and  of  whom  he  learn- 
ed  to  speak  their  language. 

This  Indian  proved  very  serviceable  to  the  company, 
in  supplying  them  with  provision,  in  acquainting  them 
with  the  state  of  the  country,  the  number  and  strength 
of  the  natives,  and  the  name  of  their  chief  sachem,  to 
whom  he  said  the  land  which  they  improved  belonged.— 
The  Indian  being  dismissed  with  many  presents  and 
Iriendly  assurances,  he  the  day  following  returned  ac¬ 
companied  by  the  grand  sachem  (Massasoiet)  and  a 
number  of  his  chief  men,  to  whom  the  English  gave  a 
welcome  reception,  presenting  them  with  many  trinkets 
which  the  natives  esteemed  of  great  value.— With  Mas- 
aAsciET  a  treaty  was  proposed  and  concluded  the  day  fol¬ 
lowing,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  English  and 
natives  were  to  live  amicably  together,  and  that  the  latter 
were  to  furnish  the  former  with  provision,  and  to  receive 
in  pay  therefor  such  ar  ticles  as  the  former  were  willing  to 
part  with — o  which  terms  both  parties  continued  ever 
after  faithfully  to  adhere. 

Iij  May  1621,  the  English  planted  their  first  corn  in 
New- England — In  July  following  their  worthy  Governor 
sickened  mid  died— his  death  was  greatly  lamented  by 
those  of  the  company  who  survived  him,  and  by  whom 
he  was  interred  with  all  possible  solemnity;  his  loving 
consort  survived  him  but  a  few  weeks.  In  August  the 
company  made  choice  of  Mr.  William  Bradford,  to 
fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Gov.  Carver. 

JNcw  England  from  this  period  began  to  be  rapidly 
peopled  by  the  Europeans  ;  so  great  was  the  emigration 
from  the  mother  country,  that  in  less  than  six  years  from 
she  time  that  the  first  adventurers  landed  at  New-Fly- 


aaouth,  there  were  seven  considerable  towns  built  and  set¬ 
tled  in  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  colonies. 

In  the  summer  of  1 627,  Mr.  Endicot,  one  of  the 
original  planters,  was  sent  over  to  begin  a  plantation  at 
Naumkeag,  (now  Salem)*— the  June  following  about  200 
persons,  furnished  with  four  ministers,  came  over  and 
joined  Mr.  Endicot’s  colony  ;  and  the  next  year  they 
formed  themselves  into  a  regular  church.  This  was  the 
first  church  gathered  in  Massachussetts,  and  the  second 
in  New  England.  The  church  at  Plymouth  had  been 
gathered  eight  years  before.  In  1629,  a  large  embarka¬ 
tion  was  projected  by  the  company  in  England  ;  at  the 
request  of  a  number  of  respectable  gentlemen,  most  of 
whom  afterwards  came  over  to  New-England,  the  gene¬ 
ral  consent  of  the  company  was  obtained,  that  the  govern¬ 
ment  should  be  transferred  and  settled  in  Massachusetts. 

In  1630,  seventeen  ships  from  different  ports  in  Eng¬ 
land  arrived  in  Massachusetts,  with  more  than  1500  pas¬ 
sengers,  among  whom  were  many  persons  of  distinction. 
Incredible  were  the  hardships  they  endured — reduced  to 
a  scanty  pittance  of  provisions,  and  that  of  a  kind  to 
which  they  had  not  been  accustomed,  and  destitute  of 
necessary  accommodations,  numbers  sickened  and  died  ; 
so  that,  before  the  end  of  the  year,  they  lost  200  of 
their  number.  About  this  time  settlements  were  mad  a 
at  Charlestown,  Boston,  Dorchester,  Cambridge,  Roxbu* 
ry,  and  Medford. 

In  the  year  1632  and  1633,  great  additions  were  made 
to  the  colony.  Such  was  the  rage  for  emigration  to 
New  England,  that  the  king  and  council  thought  fit  to 
issue  an  order,  February  7,  1633.  to  prevent  it.  The 
order  however,  was  not  strictly  obeyed. 

In  1635,  the  foundation  of  a  new  colony  was  laid  in 
Connecticut,  adjoining  the  river  which  passes  through 
the  state  ;  of  this  river  and  the  country  adjacent;  Lord 


Say,  and  Lord  Brook,  were  the  proprietors,  at  the  mouth 
of  said  river  a  fort  by  their  direction  was  built,  which 
in  honor  to  them,  was  called  Saybrook  fort.— New-Ha- 
ven  was  settled  soon  after  the  building  of  this  fort,  as 
was  a  number  of  other  towns  of  considerable  note  in 
Connecticut. — Some  difficulty  arising  among  those  who 
first  settled  at  New-Plymouth,  a  part  of  the  inhabitants, 
to  prevent  any  serious  consequences,  removed  to  a  pleas¬ 
ant  and  fertile  island  to  the  S.  VV.  of  Cape  Cod,  now 

called  Rhode-Island,  while  others  settled  at  Providence, 
% 

Warwick,  Taunton,  Szc, — thus  it  was,  that  in  the  course 
of  a  very  few  years,  a  great  part  of  New- England,  which 
so  late  was  an  uncultivated  forest,  resounding  with  the 
yells  of  savages,  and  beasts  of  prey,  became  the  place  of 
abode  of  our  persecuted  forefathers. 

But,  this  newly  settled  country  was  not  to  be  acquired 
without  bloodshed  ;  the  natives,  although  they  at  first 
appeared  harmless  and  well  disposed  toward  the  new 
settlers,  from  the  rapid  increase  and  too  frequent  ag¬ 
gressions  of  the  latter,  the  jealousy  of  the  former  was 
excited,  which  they  soon  began  more  openly  to  manifest 
as  will  appear  by  what  follows  : — 


CHAP.  III. 

commencement^ of  hostilities , 

WITH  THE  NATIVES. 


THERE  was  a  tribe  of  Indians  which  inhabited 

the  borders  of  Connecticut  river,  from  its  mouth  to 

within  a  few  miles  of  Hartford,  called  Pequots ,  a  fierce, 

cruel,  and  warlike  tribe,  and  the  inveterate  enemies  of 
* 

the  English  ;  never  failing  to  improve  every  opportunity 
to  exercise  toward  them*  the  most  wanton  acts  of  bar* 


23— 


barity.— -In  June  1634,  they  treacherously  murdered  a 
Capt  Stone  and  a  Capt.  Norton,  who  had  been  long  in 
the  habit  of  visiting  them  occasonally  to  trade. — In  Au¬ 
gust,  1635,  they  inhumanly  murdered  a  Mr.  Weeks 
and  his  whole  family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  six  chil¬ 
dren,  and  soon  after  murdered  the  wife  and  children  of  a 
Mr.  Williams,  residing  near  Hartford. — Finding,  how¬ 
ever,  that  by  their  unprovoked  acts  of  barbarity,  they  had 
enkiudled'the  resentment  of  the  English  (who,  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  their  danger,  were  making  preparation  to 
exterminate  this  cruel  tribe)  the  Pequots  despatched 
messengers  with  gifts  to  the  governor  of  the  new  colo¬ 
nies  (the  Hon.  Josiah  Winslow)- — he  being,  however, 
inflexible  in  his  determination  to  revenge  the  deaths  of 
his  friends,  dismissed  the*se  messengers  without  an  an¬ 
swer. — The  Pequots  finding  the  English  resolute  and 
determined,  and  fearing  the  consequence  of  their  re¬ 
sentment,  the  second  time  despatched  messengers  with 
a  large  quantity  of  wampum  (Indian  money)  as  a  present 
to  the  governor  and  council  ;  with  whom  the  latter  had 
a  considerable  conference,  and  at  length  concluded  a 
peace  on  the  following  terms  : — 

A  R  T  I  C  L  E  S. 

I.  The  Pequots  shall  deliver  up  to  the  English  those 
of  their  tribe  that  are  guilty  of  the  deaths  of  their  coun¬ 
trymen. 

II.  The  Pequots  shall  relinquish  to  the  English  all 
their  right  and  title  to  the  lands  lying  within  the  colony 
of  Connecticut. 

III.  The  English,  if  disposed  to  trade  with  the  Pe¬ 
quots,  shall  be  treated  as  friends. 

To  these  articles  the  Pequots  readily  agreed  and  pro¬ 
mised  faithfully  to  adhere,  and  at  the  same  time  express¬ 
ed  a  desire  to  make  peace  with  the  Narraganset  Indians* 
With  whom  they  were  then  at  wai\ 


Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  the  Pequots, 
the  English,  to  put  their  fair  promises  to  the  test,  sent  £ 
small  boat  into  the  river,  on  the  borders  of  which  they 
resided,  with  the  pretence  of  trade  ;  but  so  great  was 
the  treachery  of  the  natives,  that  after  succeeding  by  fair 
promises  in  enticing  the  crew  of  said  boat  on  shore,  they 
were  by  them,  inhumanly  murdered. 

The  Pequots  despairing  of  again  deceiving  the  Eng¬ 
lish  in  the  manner  they  had  late  done,  now  threw  off 
the  mask  of  friendship,  and  avowing  themselves  the  nat¬ 
ural  enemies  of  the  English,  commenced  open  hostilities 
against  them,  barbarously  murdering  all  that  were  so 
unfortunate  as  to  fall  into  their  hands. — A  few  families 
were,  at  this  time  settled  at  or  near  Wealhersfield  (Conn.) 
the  whole  of  whom  were  carried  away  captives  by  them  ; 
two  girls,  the  daughters  of  a  Mr.  Gibbons,  of  Hartford, 
were  in  the  most  brutal  manner  put  to  death  ;  after  gash¬ 
ing  their  flesh  with  their  knives,  the  Indians  filled  their 
wounds  with  hot  embers,  in  the  mean  time  mimicking^ 
their  dying  groans. 

The  Pequots,  encouraged  by  the  trifling  resistance 
made  by  the  English  to  their  wanton  acts  of  barbarity, 
on  the  20th  June,  1636,  besieged  fort  Saybrook,  in  which 
there  were  about  twenty  men  stationed  ;  the  Indians  were 
to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  they  sur¬ 
rounded  and  furiously  attacked  the  fort  at  midnight,  hor¬ 
ribly  yelling  and  mimicking  the  dying  groans  of  such 
as  had  fallen  victims  to  their  barbarity  :  but  the  Eng¬ 
lish  being  fortunately  provided  with  a  piece  of  cannon 
or  two,  caused  their  savage  enemies  to  groan  in  reality, 
who,  after  receiving  two  or  three  deadly  fires  from  the 
besieged,  retreated,  leaving  behind  them  dead  or  mortal¬ 
ly  wounded  about  twenty  of  their  number  ;  the  English 
sustained  no  loss  in  the  attack. 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  colony, 


alarmed  atf  the  bold  and  daring  conduct  of  the  Fequots, 
cn  the  20th  August  dispatched  Capt.  Endicot,  of  Salem, 
with  ninety  men,  to  avenge  the  murders  committed  by 
them,  unless  they  should  consent  to  deliver  up  the  mur¬ 
derers,  and  make  reparation  for  the*  injuries  which  the 
English  had  sustained.  Capt.  Endicot  was  directed  to 
proceed  first  to  Block  Island  (then  inhabited  by  the  Pc- 
quots)  put  the  men  to  the  sword  and  take  possession  of 
the  Eland — the  women  and  children  were  to  be  spared-*- 
thence  he  was  to  proceed  to  the  Pequot  country,  demand 
the  murderers  of  the  English,  a  thousand  fathom  of 
wampum,  and  a  number  of  their  children  as  hostages. 

Capt.  Endicot  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  morning  of 
the  20th,  when  he  arrived  at  Block-Island,  about  sixty 
Indians  appeared  on  the  shore  arid  opposed  his  tending  i 
his  men  soon  however  effected  a  landing  and  of  er  a  little 
skirmishing  drove  the  Indians  into  the  woods,  where 
they  could  not  be  found.  The  English  continued  two 
days  on  the  island,  in  which  time  they  destroyed  100 
wigwarms  and  about  50  canoes,  when  they  proceeded 
for  the  Pequot  country.— When  they  arrived  in  Pequot 
harbour,  Capt.  Endicot  acquainted  the  enemy  with  hiu 
designs  and  determination  to  avenge  the  cruelties  prac 
ticed  upon  his  countrymen— in  a  few  moments  ntu :ly 
500  of  the  enemy  collected  upon  the  shores,  but  as  soon 
as  they  were  made  acquainted  with  the  hostile  views  of 
the  English,  they  hastily  withdrew,  and  secreted  them¬ 
selves  in  swamps  and  ledges,  inaccessible  to  the  troops  ; 
—Capt.  Endicot  landed  his  men  on  both  sides  the  har¬ 
bour,  burnt  their  wigwarms  and  destroyed  their  canoes? 
killed  an  Indian  or  two,  and  then  returned  to  Boston  I  — 
Enough  indeed  had  been  done  to  exasperate  but  nothing 
to  subdue  a  haughty  and  warlike  enemy. 

S^ssacus  (chief  sachem  of  the  Pequots)  and  his  cap* 

;pi 

D  ' 


'tains1,  were  men  of  great  and  independent  spirits  $  they 


t»ad  conquered  and  governed  the  nations  around  theraf- 
without  controul— they  viewed  the  English  as  strangers 
and  4nere  intruders,  who  had  no  right  to  the  country? 
nor  to  controul  its  original  proprietors,  independent  prin¬ 
ces  and  sovereigns — they  had  made  settlements  at  Con** 
necticut  without  their  consent,  and  brought  home  the 
Indian  kings  whom  they  had  conquered,  and  restored  to 
them  their  authority  and  lands — they  had  built  a  fort, 
and  were  making  a  settlement  without  their  approbation 
in  their  very  neighborhood— indeed  they  had  now  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  attack  and  ravage  the  country  ; — the  Pequots 
in  consequence  breathed  nothing  but  war  and  revenge  ; 
they  were  determined  to  extirpate  or  drive  all  the  Eng¬ 
lish  from  New- England.  For  this  purpose  they  conceiv¬ 
ed  the  plan  of  uniting  the  Indians  generally  against 
them  ;  they  spared  no  art  nor  pains  to  make  peace  with 
the  Narragansets,  and  to  engage  them  in  the  war  a- 
gainst  the  English  :  to  whom  they  represented  that  the 
English,  who  were  merely  foreigners,  were  overspread¬ 
ing  the  country,  and  depriving  the  original  inhabitants 
of  their  ancient  rights  and  possessions  ;  that  unless  ef¬ 
fectual  measures  were  immediately  taken  to  prevent  it, 
they  would  soon  entirely  dispossess  the  original  proprie¬ 
tors  and  become  the  lords  of  the  continent ;  they  insist¬ 
ed  that  by  a  general  combination  they  could  either  de¬ 
stroy  or  drive  them  from  the  country,  that  there  would 
be  no  necessity  of  coming  to  open  battles,  that  by  kil¬ 
ling  their  cattle,  firing  their  houses,  laying  ambushes  on 
the  roads,  in  the  fields,  and  wherever  they  could  sur¬ 
prise  and  destroy  them,  they  might  accomplish  their 
wishes  ; — they  represented  that  if  the  English  should  ef¬ 
fect  the  destruction  of  the  Pequots,  they  would  also  soon 
destroy  the  Narragansets.  So  just  and  politic  were 
these  representations,  that  nothing  but  that  thirst  for  re¬ 
venge,  which  inflames  the  savage  heart,  could  have  re- 


sisted  their  influence,  indeed  it  is  said  that  for  some  time 
the  Narragansets  hesitated. 

The  governor  of  the  colonies,  to  prevent  an  union  be¬ 
tween  these  savage  nations,  and  to  strengthen  the  peace 
between  the  Narraganset  Indians  and  the  colonies,  dis¬ 
patched  a  messenger  to  invite  Miantinomi,  their  chief 
sachem,  to  Boston— The  invitation  was  accepted  by  Mi¬ 
antinomi,  and  while  at  Boston,  with  the  Governor  and 
Council  entered  into  a  treaty,  the  substance  of  which 
was  as  follows,  (viz,) — That  there  should  be  a  firm  peace 
maintained  between  the  English  and  Narragansets,  and 
their  posterity  : — That  neither  party  should  make  peace 
with  the  Pequots  without  its  being  first  mutually  assent¬ 
ed  to  : — That  the  Narragansets  should  not  harbour  the 
enemies  of  the  English,  but  deliver  up  to  them  such  fu¬ 
gitives  as  should  resort  to  them  for  safety  The  Eng¬ 
lish  were  to  give  them  notice  when  they  went  out  against 
the  Pequots,  and  the  Narragansets  were  to  furnish 
guides. 

In  February  1637,  the  English  in  Connecticut  colony, 
represented  to  the  Governor  and  Council  their  desire  to 
prosecute  more  effectually  the  war  with  the  Pequots,  who 
yet  continued  to  exercise  toward  them  the  most  wanton 
acts  of  barbarity.— They  represented  that  on  the  lOUi 
January,  a  boat  containing  three  of  their  countrymen  was 
attacked  by  the  enemy  as  it  was  proceeding  down  the 
river  ;  that  the  English  for  some  time  bravely  defended 
themselves,  but  were  at  length  overpowered  by  numbers  ; 
that  the  Indians,  when  they  had  succeeded  in  capturing 
the  boat's  crew,  ripped  them  up  from  the  bottom  of  their 
bellies  to  their  throats,  and  in  like  manner  split  them 
down  their  backs,  and  thus  mangled  hung  them  upon 
trees  by  the  river  side  ! — they  represented  that  the  affairs 
of  Connecticut  colony  at  this  moment  wore  a  most  gloomy 
aspect— that  they  had  sustained  great  losses  in  cattle 


and  goods  the  preceding  years  but  were  stil!  more  unfor¬ 
tunate  the  present  ;  that  a  most  dreadful  and  insidious 
enemy  were  now  seeking  opportunity  to  destroy  them— 
that  they  could  neither  hunt,  fish  or  cultivate  their  fields, 
nor  travel  at  home  or  abroad  but  at  the  peril  of  their  lives 
—that  they  were  obliged  to  keep  a  constant  watch  by 
night  and  day,  to  go  armed  to  their  daily  labours  and  to 
the  houses  of  public  worship  !— -and  although  desirous  to 
prosecute  the  war  more  effectually  with  the  common 

enemy,  they  were  not  in  a  situation  to  do  it,  and  there- 

* 

f>re  humbly  prayed  for  assistance. 

The  report  of  the  horrid  and  unprovoked  cruelties  of 
the  Pequots,  practised  upon  the  defenceless  inhabitants 
of  Connecticut  colony,  roused  the  other  colonies  to  har¬ 
monious  and  spirited  exertions  against  them — Massachu¬ 
setts  determined  to  send  200  and  Plymouth  40  men  to 
assist  their  unfortunate  brethren  in  prosecuting  the  war. 
— Capt.  Patrick  with  40  men  was  sent  forward  before 
the  other  troops,  in  order  that  he  might  be  enabled  sea¬ 
sonably  to  form  a  junction  with  the  troops  in  Connecti¬ 
cut,  who,  notwithstanding  their  weak  and  distressed  state 
had  engaged  to  furnish  90  men. 

On  Wednesday  the  10th  May,  the  Connecticut  troops 
proceeded  for  their  lort  at  Saybrook  ;  they  consisted  of 
90  Englishmen  and  70  Mohegan  and  river  Indians — the 
latter  commanded  by  Uncus,  sachem  of  the  Mohegans, 
and  the  former  by  Capt.  John  Maso^t,  who  was  accompa¬ 
nied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stone,  of  Hartford,  as  chaplain* 
The  Mohegans  being  detached  from  the  English,  on  their 
way  to  Saybrook,  fell  in  with  a  considerable  body  of  the 
enemy,  whom  they  attacked  and  defeated,  they  killed  22 

and  took  18  of  them  nrisoners. 

*  * 

Among  the  prisoners  there  v>as  one  who  was  recog- 
nized  as  a  perfidious  viliian  ;  he  hud  lived  in  the  fort  with 
ins  English  some  time. before  and  well  understood  their 


t9— - 

language  ;  he  remained  attached  to  their  interest  until 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  with  thePequots,  when 
he  deserted  the  garrison  and  joined  the  enemy,  whom  he 
served  as  guide,  and  through  whose  instigation  many  of 
the  English  had  been  captured  and  put  to  death.— Uncus 
and  his  men  insisted  upon  executing  him  according  to 
^he  custom  of  their  ancestors,  and  the  English,  in  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  then  were,  did  not  judge  it 
prudent  to  interfere — the  Indians  enkindled  a  fire,  near 
which  they  confined  the  prisoner  to  a  stake,  in  which  si¬ 
tuation  he  remained  until  his  skin  became  parched  with 
the  heat  ;  the  Mohegans  then  violently  tore  him  limb 
from  limb,  barbarously  cutting  his  flesh  in  pieces,  they 
^  handed  it  round  from  one  to  another,  easing  it,  while 
they  sung  and  danced  round  the  fire  in  a  manner  pecu« 
liar  to  savages  I  the  bones  and  such  parts  of  the  unfortu¬ 
nate  captive  as  were  not  consumed  in  this  dreadful  re¬ 
past,  were  committed  to  the  flames  and  consumed  to 
ashes. 

On  the  19th,  Capt.  Mason  and  his  men  proceeded  for 
Narraganset  bay,  at  which  place  they  safely  arrived  on 
the  2 1st. — Capt,  Mason  marched  immediately  to  the 
plantation  of  Canokicus  (a  Narraganset  sachem) -and  ac¬ 
quainted  him  with  his  designs,  and  immediately  after  dis¬ 
patched  a  messenger  to  Miantinomi,  to  inform  him 
likewise  of  the  expedition.  The  next  day  Miantenoiu 
with  his  chief  counsellors  and  warriors  met  the  English 
—Capt.  Mason  informed  him  that  the  cause  of  his  enter-  . 
ing  his  countiy  with  an  armed  force  was  to  avenge  the 
injuries  which  the  Pequots  had  done  the  English,  and 
desired  a  free  passage  to  their  forts,  which  they  intended 
to  attack  ; —  after  a  solemn  consultation,  in  the  Indian 
manner,  Miantinomi  observed  that  u  he  highly  approv¬ 
ed  of  the  expedition,  and  would  send  men  to  assist-  the 
English,  but  that  they  were  too  few  in  number  to  fight 


the  enemy — that  the  Pequots  were  great  warriors  ah# 
rather  slighted  the  English.” 

Capt.  Mason  landed  his  men  and  marched  to  the  plan¬ 
tation  of  Miantinomi,  which,  by  previous  agreement, 
was  to  be  the  place  of  general  rendezvous — in  the  even¬ 
ing  an  Indian  runner  arrived  with  information  that  Capt, 
Patrick,  with  the  men  under  his  command,  had  arrived 
at  the  plantation  of  Roger  Williams,  in  Providence, 
and  was  desirous  that  Capt.  Mason  should  postpone  his 
march  until  such  time  as  he  could  join  him  ;  Capt.  Ma¬ 
son  after  mature  deliberation  determined  l\owever  not  to 
wait  his  arrival,  although  a  junction  was  considered  impor* 
tant  ;  his  men  had  already  been  detained  much  longer 
than  was  agreeable  to  their  wishes,  and  the  Mohegans 
apparently  were  impatient  for  battle.  The  little  army 
therefore  (consisting  of  90  Englishmen.  60  Mohegan  and 
river  Indians  and  about  200  Narragansets)  commenced 
their  march  on  the  24ih,  and  in  the  evening  of  that  day 
reached  Nihantick,  which  bounded  on  the  country  of  the 
Pequots — Nihantick  was  the  seat  of  a  Narraganset  Sa¬ 
chem,  who  seemed  displeased  with  the  expedition,  and 
would  not  suffer  the  English  to  enter  his  fort — Capt.  Ma¬ 
son,  suspecting  the  treachery  of  this  fellow,  placed  a  senti¬ 
nel  at  night  at  the  entrance  of  the  fort,  determined  that 
as  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  enter,  no  one  should  come 
out  to  advise  the  enemy  of  his  approach. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  Capt.  Mason  was  joined 
by  an  additional  number  of  the  Narragansets  and  a  few 
of  the  Nihanticks — they  formed  a  circle,  and  brandishing 
their  scalping  knives,  made  protestations  how  gallantly 
they  would  fight,  and  what  numbers  they  would  kill !  Sc c* 
—Capt.  Mason  had  now  under  his  command  near  500 
Indians,  in  addition  to  his  former  force,  with  whom  he 
early.-  reassumed  his  march  for  the  head  quarters  of  the 
enemy — the  day  proved  uncommonly  warm,  and  the  men 


through  excessive  heat  and  want  of  provision,  were  only 
enabled  by  night  to  reach  Paucatuck  river  ;  where  the 
Narragansets  began  to  manifest  great  fear  and  to  enquire 
of  Capt.  Mason  his  real  designs— he  assured  them  that 
“  it  was  to  attack  the  Pequots  in  their  fort  !"  at  which 
they  appeared  greatly  surprized,  and  exhibited  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  quit  the  English  and  return  home. 

W e qu ash,  a  Pequot  Sachem,  who  had  revolted  from 
Sassacus,  was  the  principal  guide  of  the  English,  and  he 
proved  faithful  ;  he  gave  such  information  respecting 
the  distance  of  the  forts  of  the  enemy  from  each  other, 
and  the  distance  they  were  then  from  that  of  the  chief 
Sachem’s,  as  induced  Capt.  Mason  to  determine  to  at¬ 
tack  the  latter,  vthich  his  guide  represented  as  situated  at 
the  head  of  Mistic  river— he  found  his  men  so  much  fa¬ 
tigued  in  marching  through  a  pathless  wilderness,  with 
their  provision,  arms  and  ammunition,  that  this  resolution 
appeared  to  be  absolutely  necessary.  The  little  army 
accordingly  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  proceeded  direct¬ 
ly  for  Mistic,  and  at  about  sundown  penetrated  a  thick 
swamp,  where  (imagining  that  they  could  not  be  far  dis¬ 
tant  from  the  fort)  they  pitched  their  little  camp,  between 
two  large  rocks,  now  known  by  the  name  of  “  Porter's 
rocks,”  situated  in  Groton- — the  sentinels,  who  were  con¬ 
siderably  advanced  in  front  of  the  main  body  of  the  En¬ 
glish,  distinctly  heard  the  enemy  singing  and  dancing 
through  the  night  at  their  fort. 

The  important  day  was  now  approaching  when  the 
very  existence  of  Connecticut,  was  to  be  determined 
by  the  sword  in  a  single  action  l  and  to  be  decided  by  the 
valour  of  less  than  100  brave  men  ! — About  two  hours 
before  day  the  men  were  aroused  from  their  slumbers 
by  their  officers,  and  after  commending  themselves  and 
their  cause  to  the  Almighty,  proceeded  with  ail  possi¬ 
ble  dispatch  for  the  enemy's  fort  j-~wken  within  %  few 


rods  of  the  fort,  capt.  Mason  sent  for  Uncas  and  We- 
qi  t asHj  and  desired  them  in  their  Indian  manner  to  har- 
rangtie  and  prepare  their  men  for  combat  ;  they  replied 
that  4*  their  men  were  much  afraid,  and  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  advance  any  farther  !” — “  Go  then  (said 
capt.  Mason)  and  request  them  not  to  retire,  but  to  sur¬ 
round  the  fort  at  any  distance  they  please,  and  see  what 
courage  Englishmen  can  display  !” — The  day  was  now 
dawning,  and  no  time  to  be  lost,  the  fort  was  soon  in 
view— -the  soldiers  pressed  forward,  animated  with  the 
reflection  that  it  was  not  for  themselves  alone  they  were 
about  to  fight,  but  for  their  parents,  wives,  children  and 
countrymen  I —as  they  approached  the  fort  within  a  short 
distance,  they  were  discovered  by  a  Pequot  sentinel,  who 
roared  out  “  Gwarmx  !’*  “Owamixl”  (Englishmen  ! 
Englishmen  !■)— -the  troops  pressed  on  and  as  the  Indians 
were  rallying  poured  in  upon  them  the  contents  of  their 
muskets,  and  instantly  hastening  to  ‘.he  principal  entrance 
cf  the  fort,  rushed  in  sword  in  hand  !— an  important  mo¬ 
ment  this  !  for  notwithstanding  the  blaze  and  thunder  cf 
the  arms  of  the  English,  the  Pequots  made  a  manly  and 
desperate  resistance  ;  sheltered  by  their  wigwarms,  and 
rallied  by  their  sachems  and  squaws,  they  defended  them¬ 
selves  and  in  some  instances  attacked  the  English  with  a 
resolution  that  would  have  done  honour  to  Romans!— 
alter  a  bloody  and  desperate  co-nil ict  of  near  two  hours 
continuance,  in  which  hundreds  of  the  Indians  were  slain, 
and  many  of  the  English  killed  and  wounded,  victory 
still  hung  in  suspense  !— in  this  critical  state  of  the  ac¬ 
tion,  capt.  Mason  had  recourse  to  a  successful  expedi¬ 
ent— rushing  into  a  wigwarm  within  the  fort,  he  seized 
a  brand  of  fire,  and  in  the  mean  time  crying  out  to  his 
men,  H  we  must  burn  them  /”  communicated  it  to  the 
mats  With  which  the  wigwarms  were  covered,  by  which 
means  the  whole  fort  was  very  soon  «nwrapt  in  flames  ! 


«— as  the  fire  increased  the  English  retired  and  formed  a 
circle  around  the  fort ;  the  Mohegans  and  Narragansets 
who  had  remained  idle  spectators  to  the  bloody  conflict, 
how  mustered  courage  sufficient  to  form  another  circle 
in  the  rear  of  them  the  enemy  were  now  in  a  deplo¬ 
rable  situation— death  inevitably  was  their  portion  !—  sal¬ 
lying  forth  from  their  burning  cells,  they  were  shot  or 
tut  in  pieces  by  the  English — many  of  them  (perceiving 
it  impossible  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  troops)  threw 
themselves  voluntarily  into  the  flames  ! 

The  violence  of  the  flames — the  reflection  of  the  light 
—the  clashing  and  roar  of  arms— the  shrieks  and  yells 
of  the  savages  in  the  fort,  and  the  shootings  of  the  friend¬ 
ly  Indians  without,  exhibited  a  grand  and  awful  scene  I 
in  less  than  two  hours  from  the  commencement  of  the 
bloody  action,  the  English  completed  their  work— eighty 
wigwarms  were  burnt  and  upwards  of  eight  hundred  In¬ 
dians  destroyed  !— parents  and  children,  the  s an® up  and 
squaw,  the  aged  and  the  young,  perished  in  permiscu* 
ous  ruin  I— the  loss  of  the  English  was  comparitivelf 
trifling,  not  exceeding  25  in  killed  and  wounded.. 

After  the  termination  of  this  severe  engagement,  as 
the  English  were  proceeding  to  embark  on  board  their 
vessels  (which  fortunately  for  them  at  this  moment  ar¬ 
rived  in  the  harbour)  they  were  attacked  in  the  rear  by 
about,  300  of  the  enemy,  who  had  been  dispatched  from 
a  neighboring  fort  to  assist  their  brethren— the  English 
gave  them  so  warm  a  reception  that  they  soon  gave  way 
and  fell  back  to  the  field  of  action,  where,  viewing  for  a 
few  moments,  with  apparent  marks  of  horror  and  sur. 
prize,  the  shocking  scene  which  it  presented,  they  stamp¬ 
ed,  bellowed,  and  with  savage  rage  tore  their  hair  from 
their  heads  !  and  then,  with  a  hideous  yell,  pursued  the 
English  as  if  with  a  determination  to  aVenge  the  deaths 

of  their  friends  even  at  the  expence  of  their  lives  they 

E 


pursued  the  English  nearly  six  miles,  sometimes  shook* 
jng  at  a  distance,  from  behind  rocks  and  trees,  and  some? 
times  pressing  hard  upon  them  and  hazarding  themselves 
in  open  field— -the  English  killed  numbers  of  them  but 
sustained  no  loss  on  their  part  ;  when  a  Pequot  fell,  the 
Mohegans  would  cry  out  <c  run  and  fetch  his  head  — 
the  enemy  finding  at  length  that  they  discharged  their 
arrows  in  vain,  and  that  the  English  appeared  to  be  wek- 
supplied  with  ammunition,  gave  over  the  pursuit. 

In  less  than  three  weeks  from  the  time  the  English' 
embarked  at  Saybrook,  they  returned  (with  the  exception 
of  the  few  killed  and  wounded)  in  safety  to  their  respec¬ 
tive  habitations. — Few  enterprizes  were  ever  perhaps  at- 
chieved  with  more  personal  bravery  ;  in  few  have  so  great 
a  proportion  of  the  effective  men  of  a  whole  colony, 
state  or  nation,  been  put  to  so  great  and  immediate  dan¬ 
ger — in  few  have  a  people  been  so  deeply  and  immedi¬ 
ately  interested,  as  were  the  English  inhabitants  of  Con¬ 
necticut  at  this  important  crisis — in  these  respects  even 
the  great  armaments  and  battles  of  Europe  are  compar¬ 
atively  of  little  importance— and  it  ought  never  to  be  for¬ 
gotten,  that  through  the  bravery  and  unconquerable  reso¬ 
lution  of  less  than  one  hundred  men,  Connecticut  was 
once  saved,  and  the  most  warlike  and  terrible  tribe  of 
Indians  in  New-England  completely  exterminated. 

The  few  Pequots  that  now  remained  alive  conceiving 
it  unsafe  to  inhabit  longer  a  country  so  exposed  to  inva¬ 
sion,  removed  far  to  the  westward  ;  among  whom  was 
Sassacus,  their  principal  sachem. — On  the  25th  June, 
the  Connecticut  troops  under  command  of  capf.  Mason, 
together  with  a  company  from  Massachusetts,  command¬ 
ed  by  capt.  Stoughton,  were  sent  in  pursuit  of  them  ; 
they  proceeded  westward,  and  on  the  27th  fell  in  with 
attacked  and  defeated  a  considerable  body  of  them  :  they 
took  about  50  of  them  prisoners,  among  whom  weia 


two  Sachems,  whose  lives  were  offered  them  on  condi¬ 
tion  of  their  serving  as  guides  to  the  English. 

The  English  on  their  march  frequently  fell  in  with 
small  detached  parties  of  the  enemy,  whom  they  captur¬ 
ed  or  destroyed,  but  could  not  obtain  any  information 
relative  to  the  main  body  commanded  by  Sassacus— . 
finding  that  the  two  sachem  prisoners  would  not  give 
them  the  information  required,  they  on  the  27th  behead¬ 
ed  them  at  a  place  called  Menunkatuck  (now  Guilford) 
from  which  circumstance  the  place  still  bears  the  name 
of  “  Sachems’  head.”  The  English  on  the  30th,  arriv¬ 
ed  at  Quinnipiak  (now  New-Haven)  where  they  were  in¬ 
formed  by  a  friendly  Pequot  that  the  enemy  were  encamp¬ 
ed  in  a  swamp,  a  few  miles  to  the  westward — the  troops 
pushed  forward  and  on  the  succeeding  day  arrived  at  the 
boarder  of  said  swamp,  which  they  found  a  thicket  so  ex¬ 
tremely  boggy  as  to  render  it  inaccessible  to  any  one  but 
the  natives — the  English,  therefore,  thought  it  most  advi¬ 
sable  to  surround  the  swamp  and  annoy  the  enemy  as  op¬ 
portunity  presented  ; — the  Indians,  after  a  few  skirmishes, 
requested  a  parley,  which  being  granted  them,  Thomas 
Stanton,  (interpreter  to  the  English)  was  sent  to  treat 
with  them— he  was  authorized  to  offer  life  to  such  as  had 
not  shed  the  blood  of  Englishmen  ;  upon  which  the  Sa¬ 
chem  of  the  place,  together  with  about  300  of  his  tribe 
came  out,  and  producing  satisfactory  proof  of  their  inno¬ 
cence,  were  permitted  to  retire  ; — but  the  Pequots  boldly 
declared  that  “  they  had  both  shed  and  drank  the  blood  of 
Englishmen,  and  would  not  upon  such  terms  accept  of 
life,  but  would  fight  it  out  !”— The  English,  unwilling  to 
brook  the  threats  and  insulting  language  of  the  Pequots, 
attempted  now  to  devise  means  to  attack  the  whole  body 
of  them  without  further  delay  ;  the  officers  were  however 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  mode  of  attack-some  were 
for  setting  fire  to  the  swamp,  others  for  cutting  their 


•36- 


way  through  with  hatchets,  and  others  for  surrounding 
it  with  a  high  fence  or  pallisado  ;  neither  of  which  plans 
were  however  fully  adopted— as  night  approached  the 
English  cut  through  a  part  of  the  swamp,  by  which 
means  its  circumference  was  much  lessened,  and  they 
enabled  so  completely  to  surround  the  enemy  as  to  pre¬ 
vent  their  escape  during  the  night  ; — early  the  ensuing 
morning  the  Indians  percervipg  themselves  completely 
hemmed  in  by  the  English,  made  a  violent  attempt  to 
break  through  iheir  lines  ;  they  were  however  driven 
buck  with  great  loss — they  next  attempted  to  force  th© 
line  formed  by  the  Connecticut  troops,  but  here  they  met 
with  a  much  warmer  reception — the  contest  now  became 
close  and  severe,  the  Indians,  who  were  about  600  in 
number,  appeared  determined  not  to  yield  but  at  the  ex¬ 
pence  of  their  lives  ;  one  of  the  most  resolute  of  them 
walked  boldly  up  to  capt.  Mason,  with  an  uplifted  toma¬ 
hawk,  and  when  about  to  give  the  fatal  stroke,  received 
a  blow  from  the  latter,  who  with  his  cutlass  severed  the 
head  of  the  savage  from  his  body  !  the  enemy  soon  after 
made  another  attempt  to  break  through  the  lines  of  the 
English,  and  in  which,  after  a  violent  struggle,  they  final¬ 
ly  succeeded  ;  about  60  of  their  bravest  warriors  escap¬ 
ed,  the  remainder  being  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners  ; 
—the  loss  of  the  English  was  1 1  killed  and  about  20 
wounded. 

The  prisoners  taken  were  divided  among  the  troops, 
some  of  whom  were  retained  by  them  as  servants  and  the 
remainder  sent  to  the  West, -Indies-  and  sold  to  the  plan* 
iers—the  prisoners  reported  that  the  whole  tribe  of  Pe- 
quots  was  now  nearly  exterminated  ;  that  in  different 
engagements  there  had  been  upwards  of  2000  of  them 
killed  and  about  1000  caplin  ed,  among  whom  were  13 
Sachems,  and  that  six  yet  survived,  one  of  whom  was 
'  oassAcus,  who  had  fled  with  the  fragment  of  his  tribe  t« 


the  country  bordering  on  Hudson  river,  inhabited  by  tfye 
Mohawks. 

After  the  swamp  fight  the  Pequots  became  so  weak 
and  scattered  that  the  Mohegans  and  NarragansgfJs  daily 
destroyed  them,  and  presented  their  scalps  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish  ;  the  few  that  fled  with  Sassacus  to  the  westward, 
were  attacked  and  totally  destroyed  by  the  Mohawks— 

i  • 

the  scalp  of  Sassacus  was  in  the  fall  of  1638,  presented 
to  the  Governor  and  Conned  of  Massachusetts. 

Soon  after  the  extermination  of  the  Pequots,  the  Nar- 
ragansets  (the  most  numerous  tribe  in  New-England)  be¬ 
ing  displeased  with  the  small  power  with  which  they 
were  vested,  and  the  respect  which  the  English  uniformly 
manifested  for  Uncus,  appeared  disposed  to  break  their 
treaty  of  friendship-  Miantinomi,  without  consulting 
the  English  according  to  agreement,  without  proclaiming 
war,  or  giving  Uncus  the  least  information,  raised  an  ar¬ 
my  of  1000  men  and  marched  against  him. — The  spies 
of  Uncus  discovered  the  army  at  some  distance  and  gave 
him  intelligence — he  was  unprepared,  but  rallying  about 
500  of  his  bravest  men  he  told  them  they  must  by  no  means 
suffer  Miantinomi  to  enter  their  town,  but  must  go 
and  give  him  battle  on  his  way.  The  Mohegans  having 
marched  three  or  four  miles  met  the  enemy  upon  an  ex¬ 
tensive  plain — when  the  armies  had  advanced  within  fair 
bow  shot  of  each  other,  Uncu3  had  recourse  to  stratagem, 
with  which  he  had  previously  acquainted  his  warriors— 
he  desired  a  parley,  which  being  granted,  both  armies 
halted  in  the  face  of  each  other  ;  Uncus  gallantly  ad¬ 
vancing  in  front  of  his  men  addressed  Miantinomi  to 
this  effect—  ‘  You  have  a  number  of  stout  men  with  you, 
and  so  have  I  with  me  ;  it  is  a  great  pity  that  so  many 
brave  warriors  should  be  killed  in  consequence  of  a  pri¬ 
vate  mis-understanding  between  us  two  ! — come  like  a 
brave  man,  as  you  profess  to  be,  and  let  us  decide  the 


—58— 


/dispute  alone,  if  you  kill  me,  my  men  shall  be  yours  ; 
but  it  I  kill  you,  your  men  shall  be  mine  !” — u  No  !  (re¬ 
plied  Miantinomi)  my  men  come  to  fight,  and  they 
shall  fight  !” — upon  which  Uncu  ,  falling  instantly  to  the 
ground  his  men  discharged  a  shower  of  arrows  among 
the  Narragansets,  and  without  a  moment’s  interval,  rush¬ 
ing  upon  them  in  the  most  furious  manner,  with  a  hideous 
yell,  put  them  to  flight. —  The  Mohegans  pursued  the 
enemy  with  the  same  fury  and  eagerness  with  which  they 
commenced  the  action — the  Narragansets  were  driven 
down  rocks  and  precipices,  and  chased  like  a  doe  by  the 
huntsman — many  of  them  to  escape  from  their  pursuers 
plunged  into  a  river  from  rocks  of  near  thirty  feet  in 
height — among  others  Miantinomi  was  hard  pushed, 
some  of  the  most  forward  of  the  Mohegans  coming  up 
with  him,  twirled  him  about  and  impeded  his  flight  that 
Uncus,  their  Sachem,  might  alone  have  the  honour  of 
taking  him  ; — Uncus  (who  was  a  man  of  great  bodily 
strength)  rushing  forward  like  a  lion  greedy  of  his  prey, 
seized  Miantinomi  by  the  shoulder,  and  giving  the  In¬ 
dian  whoop,  called  up  his  men  who  were  behind  to  his 
assistance*— -The  victory  was  complete — about  50  of  the 
.Narragansets  were  killed  and  a  much  greater  number 
wounded  and  taken  prisoners  j  among  the  latter  was  a 
brother  of  Miantinomi  and  two  of  the  sons  of  Canoni- 
cus,  whom  Uncus  conducted  in  triumph  to  Mohegan. 
Some  few  days  after  Uncus  conducted  Miantinomi 
back  to  the  spot  where  he  was  taken,  for  the  purpose  of' 
putting  him  to  death  ;  at  the  instant  they  arrived  on  the 
ground,  an  Indian  (who  was  ordered  to  march  in  the  rear 
for  the  purpose)  sunk  a  hatchet  into  his  head,  and  dis¬ 
patched  him  at  a  single  stroke  !—  he  was  probably  unac¬ 
quainted  with  his  fate  and  knew  not  by  what  means  he 
ieil — Uncus  cut  out  a  large  piece  of  his  shoulder  which 
he  devoured  in  savage  triumph  1  declaring  in  the  meah 


time  that  «  it  was  the  sweetest  meat  he  ever  ate  ;  it  made 
his  heart  strong  !”  The  Mohegans  buried  Mianv'inomz 
at  the  place  of  his  execution,  and  erected  upon  his  grave 
a  pillar  of  stones — this  memorable  event  gave  the  place 
the  name  of  (i  Sachem’s  Plains”— they  are  situated  in 
an  eastern  corner  of  Norwich. 

The  Narragansets  became  now  greatly  enraged  at  the 
death  of  their  sachem,  and  sought  means  to  destroy 
Uncus,  whose  country  they  in  small  parties  frequently 
envaded,  and  by  laying  ambushes  cut  off  a  number  of 
his  most  valuable  warriors.  As  UnCus.  was  the  avowed 
friend  of  the  English,  and  had  in  many  instances  signal¬ 
ized  himself  as  such,  they  conceived  it  their  duty  to  af¬ 
ford  him  all  the  protection  possible — they  dispatched 
messengers  to  acquaint  the  Narragansets  with  their  de¬ 
termination,  should  they  continue  to  molest  and  disturb 
the  repose  cf  the  Mohegans. — The  messengers  of  the 
English  met  with  quite  an  unfavourable  reception,  to 
whom  one  of  the  Narraganset  sachems  declared  that  u  he 
would  kill  every  Englishman  and  Mohegan  that  came 
within  his  reach  :  that  whoever  began  the  war  he  would 
continue  it,  and  that  nothing  should  satisfy  him  but  the 
head  of  Uncus  1” 

The  English,  irritated  at  the  provoking  language  of 
the  Narragansets,  now  determined  not  only  to  protect 
Uncus,  but  to  envade  their  country  with  an  army  of  300 
men  ;  first  to  propose  a  peace  on  their  own  terms,  but 
if  rejected,  to  attack  and  destroy  them— for  this  purpose 
Massachusetts  was  to  furnish  190  and  Plymouth  and  Con¬ 
necticut  colonies  55  men  each. 

The  Narragansets  learning  that  an  army  was  about  to 
enter  the  heart  of  their  country,  and  fearful  of  the  issue, 
dispatched  several  of  their  principal  men  to  sue  for. 
peace,  on  such  terms  as  the  English  should  be  pleased 
to  grant#— The  Governor  and  Council  demanded  that 


they  should  restore  to  Uncus  all  the  captives  and  canoes 
which  they  had  taken  from  him,  and  pledge  themselves 
to  maintain  perpetual  peace  with  the  English  and  their 
allies,  and  to  the  former  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  2000 
fathom  of  white  wampum  ! — these  indeed  were  hard 
terms,  against  which  the  Narragansets  strongly  remon¬ 
strated,  but  aware  that  the  English  had  already  a  consid¬ 
erable  force  collected  for  the  express  purpose  of  enva- 
ding  their  country,  they  at  length  thought  it  most  pru¬ 
dent  to  acquiesce. 

During  the  war  between  the  Narragansets  and  Uncus, 
the  former  once  besieged  the  fort  of  the  latter  until  his 
provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  he  found  that  his 
men  must  soon  perish  either  by  famine  or  the  tomahawk 
unless  speedily  relieved— in  this  crisis  he  found  means 
of  communicating  an  account  of  his  situation  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish  scouts,  who  had  been  dispatched  from  the  fort  in 
Say  brook  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy— Uncus  represent¬ 
ed  the  danger  to  which  the  English  would  be  exposed 
if  the  Narragansets  should  succeed  in  destroying  the 
Mohegans.  It  was  at  this  critical  juncture,  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  English  troops  in  Connecticut  were 
employed  on  an  expedition  abroad  ;  a  Mr.  Thomas  Lef- 
fingwelL,  however,  a  bold  and  enterprizing  man,  on 
learning  the  situation  of  Uncus,  loaded  a  canoe  with 
provision,  and  under  cover  of  night  paddled  from  Say- 
brook  into  the  river  Thames,  and  had  the  address  to  get 
the  whole  into  the. fort — the  enemy  soon  after  discover¬ 
ing  that  Uncus  had  received  supplies,  raised  the  siege  5 
— for  this  piece  of  service  Uncus  presented  said  Lef- 
fingwklL  with  a  deed  of  a  very  large  tract  of  land, 
now  comprising  the  whole  town  of  Norwich. 

The  English  in  New  England  now  enjoyed  a  peace  un¬ 
til  the  year  1671,  when  they  again  took  up  arms  to  re¬ 
venge  the  death  of  one  of  their  countrymen,  who  had 


— 41  — 


'  r  % 

been  inhumanly  murdered  by  an  Indian  belonging  to 
the  Nipnet  tribe,  of  which  the  celebrated  Philip,  of 
Mount  Hope  (now  Bristol,  R.  I.)  was  Sachem. — It  was 
thought  the  most  prudent  step  by  the  Governor  and 
Council,  first  to  send  for  Philip,  and  acquaint  him  with 
the  cause  of  their  resentment,  and  the  course  which 
they  were  determined  to  pursue  in  case  he  refused  to 
deliver  into  their  hands  the  murderer— Philip  being  ac¬ 
cordingly  sent  for,  and  appearing  before  the  court,  ap¬ 
peared  much  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  accused, 
assuring  them  that  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  bring 
him  to  justice  ;  and  more  fully  to  confirm  his  friendship 
for  the  English,  expressed  a  wish  that  the  declaration 
which  he  was  about  publicly  to  make,  might  be  commit¬ 
ted  to  paper,  that  he  and  his  Council,  might  thereunto 
affix  their  signatures.  The  Governor  and  Council,  in 
compliance  with  the  request  of  Philip,  drew  up  the  fol¬ 
lowing,  which  after  being  signed  by  Philip  and  his  chief 
men,  was  presented  to  the  Governor  by  Philip  ih  con¬ 
firmation  of  his  friendly  assurances 

ir ,  Whereas,  my  farther,  my  brother,  and  my  Self,  have 
uniformly  submitted  to  the  good  and  wholesome  laws  of 
his  majesty,  the  king  of  England,  and  have  ever  respect¬ 
ed  his  faithful  subjects,  the  English,' as  btir  friends  arid 
brothers,  and  being  still  anxious  to  brighten  the  chain  di 
friendship  between  ms,  we'  do  now  embrace  this  opportu¬ 
nity  to  pledge  ourselves,  that  we  will'spare  ho  pains  m 
seeking  out  and  bringing  to  justice,  such  of  our  tribe  a§ 
shall  hereafter  commit  any  outrage  against  them  ;  and  to 
remove  all  suspicion,  we  voluntarily  agree  to  deliver  up 
to  them,  all  the  lire  arms,  which  they  have  heretofore 
kindly  presented  us  with,  until  such  time  as  thejr  can* 
safely  repose  confidence  in  us— and  for  the  true  perform^ 

F  _*  :  :  !  ■:  ■  ?• 


ance  of  these  our  sacred  promises,  we  have  hereunto  set 
our  hands*” 

Chief  Sachem; 

Philip's  X  mark. 

Chief  Men.  . 
Pokanoket’s  X  mark.  :• 
Uncgmbo’s  X  mark. 

In  presence  of  the  Samkamj's  X  mark. 

Govet  nor  and  Council  /  Wocokqm's  X  mark. 

Poston,  April  10.  16 71. 

Notwithstanding  the  fair  promises  of  Philip,  it  wa* 
soon  discovered  by  the  English,  that  he  was  playing  a 
deep  game,  that  he  was  artfully  enticing  his  red  breth¬ 
ren  throughout  the  whole  of  New-England,  to  rise,  en 
masse,  against  them,  and  drive  them  out  of  the  country  ; 
the  Narragansets,  for  this  purpose,  had  engaged  to  raise 
4000  fighting  men — the  spring  of  1672,  was  the  lime 
agreed  upon  on  which  the  grand  Mow  was  to  be  given— 
The  evil  intentions  of  Philip,  was  first  discovered  and 
communicated  to  the  English,  by  a  friendly  Indian,  of 
the  Narraganset  tribe  ;  fortunately  for  them,  this  Indian 
had  been  taken  into  favor  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Elliot,  by 
whom  he  bad  been  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  became 
much  attached  to  the  English— Tne  Governor  upon  re¬ 
ceiving  the  important  information  relative  to  the  hostile 
vievys  of  Philip,  ordered  a  military  watch  to  be  kept  up 
in  all  the  English  settlements  within  the  three  colonies  $ 
by  tome  of  whom  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  report 
of  their  Indian  friend  was  too  well  founded,  as  the  In¬ 
dians  of  different  tribes  were  daily  seen  flocking  in  great 
numbers  to  the  head  quarters  of  Philip  ;  previously 
sending  their  wives  and  children  to  the  Narraganset 
country,  which  they  had  ever  done  previous  to  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  hostilities. 

The  inhabitants  of  Swanzey  (a  small  settlement  ad* 


joining  Mount  Hope,  the  head-quarters  of  Philip*)  were 
the  first  who  feit  the  effects  of  this  war. — Philip,  en¬ 
couraged  by  the  numbers  who  were  daily  enlisting  un¬ 
der  his  banners,  and  desparing  of  discovering  cause  that 
could  justify  him  in  the  commencement  of  hostilities 
against  his  <l  friends  and  brothers,”  as  he  had  termed 
them,  resolved  to  provoke  them  to  war  by  killing  their 
cattle,  firing  their  barns,  &c. — this  plan  had  its  desired 
effect,  as  the  inhabitants,  determined  to  save  their  pro¬ 
perty  or  perish  in  the  attempt,  fired  upon  the  Indians, 
which  was  deemed  cause  sufficient  by  the  latter  to  com¬ 
mence  their  bloody  work — the  war > whoop  was  immedia¬ 
tely  thereupon  sounded,  when  the  Indians  commenced  an 
indiscriminate  murder  of  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of 
Swanzey,  spairing  not  the  tender  infant  at  the  breast 
but  three,  of  seventy-eight  persons  which  the  town  con¬ 
tained,  made  their  escape. — Messengers  were  despatched 
with  the  melancholy  tidings  of  this  bloody  affair,  to  the 
Governor,  who  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Council,  despatched  a  company  of  militia  with  all  possi¬ 
ble  speed  to  the  relief  of  the  distressed  inhabitants  resid¬ 
ing  near  the  head-quarters  of  Philip  as  soon  as  they 
could  be  raised,  three  companies  more  were  despatched 
under  the  command  of  Captains  Henchman,  Prentice, 
and  Church,  who  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Swan- 
zey,  on  the  28th  June,  where  they  were  joined  by  four 
more  companies  from  Plymouth  colony — it  was  found 
that  the  Indians  had  pillaged  and  set  fire  to  the  village, 
and  with  their  booty  had  retired  to  Mount  Hope— a  com¬ 
pany  of  cavalry  were  sent,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Prentice,  to  reconnoitre  them  ;  but  before  they  arrived 
at  a  convenient  place  for  this  purpose,  they  were  ambush¬ 
ed  and  fired  upon  by  the  enemy,  who  killed  six  of  their 
number  and  wounded  ten— the  renortof  their  guns  alarm- 
iog  the  remaining  companies  of  the  English,  they  has- 


tened  to  the  relief  of  the  cavalry,  who  at  this  moment 
were  completely  surrounded  by  about  600  Indians,  be¬ 
tween  whom  and  the  English  a  warm  contest  now  ensu¬ 
ed  ;  the  savages  fought  desperately,  and  more  than  once 
nearly  succeeded  in  overpowering  the  English,  but  very 
fortunatel)  for  the  latter,  when  nearly  despairing  of  vic¬ 
tory,  a  fresh  company  of  militia  from  Boston  arrived  ; 
which  flanking  the  enemy  on  the  right  and  left,  and  ex¬ 
posing  them  to  two  fires,  soon  overpowered  them,  and 
earned  them  to  set  k  shelter  in  an  adjoining  wood,  inac¬ 
cessible  to  the  English. — The  English  had  in  this  severe 
engagement  42  killed,  and  73  wounded,  many  of  them 
mortally — the  enemy’s  loss  was  supposed  to  be  much 
greater. 

On  the  30th,  Major  Savage  (who  by  his  Excellency 
the  Governor  had  been  appointed  Commander  in  Chief 
of  the  combined  English  forces)  arrived  with  an  addi¬ 
tional  company  of  cavalry,  who  with  the  remaining  com¬ 
panies  the  following  day  commenced  their  march  for 
Mount-Hope,  the  head  quarters  of  Philip— on  their 
way,  the  English  were  affected  with  a  scene  truly  dis¬ 
tressing  ;  the  Savages,  not  content  with  bathing  their 
tomahawks  in  the  blood  of  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of 
Swanzey,  had,  it  was  discovered,  in  many  instances  de¬ 
tached  their  limbs  from  their  mangled  bodies,  and  affix¬ 
ed  them  to  poles  which  were  extended  in  the  air !  among 
which  were  discovered  the  heads  of  several  infant  chil¬ 
dren,  the  whole  of  which,  by  order  of  Maj.  Savage 
were  collected  and  buried. 

The  English  arrived  at  Mount-Hope  about  sun-set,  but 
the  enemy  having  received  information  of  their  approach, 
had  deserted  their  wigwarms  and  retired  into  a  neigh¬ 
boring  wood.— Major  Savage,  to  pursue  the  enemy  with 
success,  now  divided  his  men  into  separate  companies, 
which  he  ordered  to  march  in  different  directions,  station- 


ing40at  Mount-Hope:—  On  the  4th  July  the  men  under 
the  command  of  Captains  Church,  and  Henchmen, 
fell  in  with  a  body  of  the  enemy,  to  the  number  of  200, 
whom  they  attacked  ;  the  English  being  but  32  in  num¬ 
ber,  including  officers,  victory  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time  appeared  much  in  favour  of  the  Savages,  but 
very  fortunately  for  the  former  being  commanded  by  bold 
and  resolute  officers,  they  defended  themselves  in  the 
most  heroic  manner  until  relieved  by  a  company  cf  ca¬ 
valry  under  the  command  of  Capt*  Prentice. — The 
Indians  now  in  turn  finding  the  fire  of  the  English  too 
warm  for  them,  fled  in  every  direction,  leaving  30  of 
their  number  dead  and  about  60  severely  wounded  on  the 
field  of  action— the  English  in  this  engagement  bad  7 
killed  and  22  wounded,  five  of  whom  survived  the  action 
but  a  few  hours. 

This  action,  so  far  from  daunting  the  bold  and  reso¬ 
lute  Capt.  Church,  seemed  to  inspire  him  with  addi¬ 
tional  bravery  ;  unwilling  that  any  of  the  enemy  should 
escape,  he  boldly  led  his  men  into  an  almost  impenetra¬ 
ble  forest  into  which  those  who  survived  the  action  had 
fled— the  Indians  perceiving  the  English  approaching, 
concealed  themselves  from  their  view  by  lying  fiat  on 
their  bellies,  in  which  situation  they  remained  concealed 
until  the  English  bad  advanced  within  a  few  rods  of 
them,  when  each  unperceived  fixing  upon  his  man,  dis¬ 
charged  a  shower  of  arrows  among  them— this  unexpec¬ 
ted  cheek  threw  the  English  into  confusion,  which  the 
Indians  pe-rceiving,  rushed  furiously  upon  them  with 
their  knives  and  tomahawks,  shouting  horribly  ! — the 
English  (their  cavalry  being  unable  to  afford  them  assis¬ 
tance)  were  now  in  a  very  disagreeable  situation,  the 
trees  being  so  very  large  as  to  render  it  difficult  to  use 
their  fire  arms  with  any  effect,  and  they  were  very  soon 
so  encompassed  by  the  Savages,  as  to  render  almost.  ev» 


pry  effort  to  defend  themselves  useless;  of  64  who  cn? 
tered  the  swamp,  but  27  escaped,  among  whom  very 
fortunately  was  their  valuable  leader  Capt.  Church. 

The  English  finding  that  they  could  neither  bring 
their  enemies  to  action  in  open  field,  or  engage  them 
with  any  success  in  the  forest  in  which  they  were  lodg¬ 
ed,  returned  home,  with  the  exception  of  three  compa¬ 
nies,  who  were  stationed  by  Major  Savage  near  the 
borders  of  a  swamp,  into  which  it  was  strongly  suspec¬ 
ted  that  Philip,  with  a  number  of  his  tribe,  had  fled — 
this  swamp  was  two  miles  in  length,  and  to  the  English 
inaccessible. — Philip,  who  had  been  watching  the  mo¬ 
tion  of  his  enemies,  perceiving  the  greater  part  of  them 
marching  off  conjectured  that  their  object  was  to  obtain 
a  reinforcement ;  impressed  with  this  belief  he  resolved 
to  improve  the  first  opportunity  to  escape  with  a  few 
chosen  men  by  water,  which  he  with  little  difficulty  effect¬ 
ed  the  proceeding  night,  taking  the  advantage  of  a  low 
tide.  The  enemy  were  soon  after  their  escape  discov¬ 
ered  and  pursued  by  the  inhabitants  of  Rehoboth,  ac¬ 
companied  by  a  party  of  the  Mohegans,  who  had  volun¬ 
teered  their  services  against  Philip. 

The  Rehoboth  militia  came  up  with  the  rear  of  the 
enemy  about  sunset,  and  killed  12  of  them,  without  sus¬ 
taining  any  loss  on  their  part ;  night  prevented  their  en¬ 
gaging  the  whole  force  of  Philip,  but  early  the  succeed¬ 
ing  morning  they  continued  the  pursuit*  the  Indians  had 
however  fled  with  such  precipitancy  that  it  was  found 
impossible  to  overtake  them — they  bent  their  course  to 
the  westward,  exhorting  the  different  tribes  through 
which  they  passed  to  take  up  arms  against  the  English. 

The  United  Colonies  became  now  greatly  alarmed  at 
the  hostile  views  and  rapid  strides  of  Philip — the  Gen¬ 
eral  Court  was  constantly  in  sitting  and  endeavouring  to, 
plan  means  to  cut  him  off  before  he  should  have  an  op- 


portunity  to  corrupt  tlic  minds  of  too  many  of  his  coim« 
trymen. 

While  the  Court  was  thus  employed,  information  was 
received  that  Philip  had  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Brookfield  (stiua  ed  about  65  miles  from  Boston)  and 
that  a  number  of  its  inhabitants  had  been  inhumanly 
butchered  by  his  adherents.— Orders  were  immediately 
thereupon  issued  for  the  raising  ten  companies  of  foot 
and  horse,  to  be  dispatched  10  the  relief  of  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  inhabitants  of  Brookfield  ;  but  before  they  could 
reach  that  place  Philip  and  his  party  had  entered  the 
town,  and  ind  scriminately  put  to  death  almost  every  in¬ 
habitant  which  it  contained  ;  the  few  that  escaped  having 
taken  the  precaution,  previous  to  the  attack,  to  assemble 
together  in  one  house,  which  they  strongly  fortified  ;  this 
house  was  furiously  attacked  by  the  savages  and  several 
times  set  on  fire,  and  the  besieged  wete  on  the  point  of 
surrendering  when  Major  Willard  happdy  arrived  to 
their  relief. — Between  the  English  and  the  Indians  a  des¬ 
perate  engagement  now  Ensued,  the  former  by  the  ex¬ 
press  command  of  their  officers,  gave  no  quarter,  but  in  a 
very  heroic  manner  ru  ,hed  upon  the  savages  with  club¬ 
bed  muskets  ;  the  action  continued  until  near,  sunset, 
when  the  few  Indians  (hat  remained  alive  sought  shelter 
in  the  neighboring  woods, — In  this  engagement  the  Eng¬ 
lish  had  22  killed  and  75  wounded — the  enemy’s  loss 
was  217  kil  t’d,  and  be  ween  200  and  300  wounded,  who, 
by  way  of  retaliation  (for  their  barbarity  exercised  to¬ 
ward  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of  Brookfield)  were  im¬ 
mediately  put  to  death. 

The  Governor  and  Council,  on  learning  the  fate  of  the 
unfortunate  inhabitants  of  Brookfield,  despatched  a  rein¬ 
forcement  of  three  companies  of  cavalry 'to  Major  Wil¬ 
lard,  and  ordered  the  like  number  io  be  sent  him  from 
Hartford,  in  Connecticut  coiQny,  with  which  he  was  di* 


reeled  to  pursue  Philip  with  fire  and  sword,  to  whatever 
part  of  the  country  he  should  resort. 

It  being  discovered  that  a  part  of  Philip’s  forces  had 
fled  to  Hatfidd,  two  companies  of  English,  under  com¬ 
mand  of  Capt.  Lathrop,  and  Capt.  Beers,  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  them,  who  within  about  three  miles  of  Hat¬ 
field,  overtook  and  attacked  them,  but  the  force  of  the 
English  being  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  enemy,  the 
former  were  defeated  and  driven  back  to  the  mam  body  5 
which  enabled  the  enemy  (who  had  in  the  late  engage¬ 
ment  been  detached  from  the^r  main  body)  to  join  Phil¬ 
ip. — On  the  1 8th  September,  information  was  received 
by  Major  Willard  that  the  enemy  had  successively  at¬ 
tacked  and  defeated  the  troops  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Lathrop  ;  that  they  were  ambushed  and  unex¬ 
pectedly  surrounded  by  1000  of  the  enemy,  to  whom 
they  all  (except  three,  who  escaped)  fell  a  sacrifice  !— 
The  defeat  of  Capt.  Lathrop  took  place  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  Deerfield,  for  the  defence  of  which,  there 
was  an  English  garrison,  which  the  Indians  were  about 
to  attack  when  Major  Willard  happily  arrived,  on  the 
approach  of  whom,  the  Indians  fled. 

On  the  10th  October  following,  a  party  of  Philip’s 
Indians  successfully  assaulted  the  town  of  Springfield, 
which  they  pillaged  and  set  fire  to,  killing  about  40  of 
the  inhabitants. — On  the  14th  they  assaulted  the  town  of 
Hatfield,  in  which  two  companies  under  the  command 
of  Capt.  Mosely,  and  Capt.  Appleton,  were  stationed  $ 
the  enemy  continued  the  attack  for  about  two  hours,  when 
finding  the  fire  of  the  English  too  warm  tor  them,  they 
fled,  leaving  a  number  of  their  party  behind  them  dead. 

Philip  now  finding  himself  closely  pursued  by  a  large 
and  formidable  body  of  the  English,  deemed  it  prudent 
to  bend  his  course  toward  his  old  place  of  residence,  there 
to  remain  until  the  ensuing  spring. 


—49  — 

But  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies*  duly 
reflecting  on  the  deplorable  situation  of  their  defenceless 
brethren  throughout  the  country,  aware  that  there  were 
then  a  much  greater  number  of  their  savage  enemies 
embodied,  than  at  any  former  period,  who,  if  suffered 
peaceably  to  retire  into  winter  quarters,  might  prove  too 
powerful  for  them  the  spring  ensuing,  resolved  to  attack 
the  whole  force  under  Philip  in  their  winter  encamp¬ 
ment — for  the  purpose  of  which,  every  Englishman  ca¬ 
pable  of  bearing  arms,  was  commanded  (by  Proclamation 
of  the  Governor)  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  march  at 

the  shortest  notice, — The  10th  of  December,  was  the 
,  » 
day  appointed  by  the  Commissioners  on  which  the  de¬ 
cisive  blow  was  to  be  given— six  companies  were  imme¬ 
diately  raised  in  Massachusetts,  consisting  in  the  whole 
of  527  men,  to  the  command  of  which  were  appointed 
Captains  Mosely,  Gardener,  Davenport,  Oliver, 
and  Johnson — five  companies  were  raised  in  Connecti¬ 
cut,  consisting  of  450  men,  to  the  command  of  which 
were  appointed  Captains  Siely,  Gallop,  Mason,  Watts, 
and  Marshall — two  companies  were  likewise  raised  in 
Plymouth,  consisting  of  150  men,  who  were  commanded 
by  Captains  Rice  and  Goram  y— three  Majors  of  the 
three  respective  divisions,  were  also  appointed,  to  wit  s 
Major  Appleton,  of  Massachusetts — Major  Treat,  of 
.Connecticut,  and  Major  Bradford,  of  Plymouth- — the 
whole  force,  consisting  of  1127  men,  were  commanded 
by  Major-General  Winslow,  late  Governor  of  the  colo¬ 
nies. — -On  the  7th  December,  the  combined  forces  com¬ 
menced  thDr  march  for  the  head  quarters  of  the  enemy 
— at  this  inclement  season,  it  was  with  the  utmost  diffi¬ 
culty  that  the  troops  were  enabled  to  penetrate  through 
a  wild  and  pathless  wood. — on  the  morning  of  the  9th 
(having  travelled  all  the  preceding  night)  they  arrived 

?he  border  of  an  extensive  swamp,  in  which  they  were 

Q 


/• 


informed  by  their  guides  the  enemy  were  encamped  to 
the  number  of  4000. — The  English  (after  partaking  of  a 
little  refreshment)  formed  for  battle. — Capt.  Moskly,  and 
Capt.  Davenport,  led  the  van,  and  Major  Appleton, 
and  Capt,  Oliver,  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  forces — General  Winslow,  with  the  Plymouth 
troops  formed  the  centre — the  Connecticut  troops  under 
the  command  of  their  respective  captains,  together  with 
about  800  of  the  Mohegans,  commanded  by  Oneco ,  (the 
son  of  Uncus )  brought  up  the  rear. 

It  was  discovered  by  an  Indian  sent  for  that  purpose, 
that  in  the  centre  of  the  swamp  the  enemy  had  built  a 
very  strong  fort,  of  so  wise  construction,  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  more  than  one  person  could  enter  at  one 
time. — About  10  o’clock,  A.  M.  the  English  with  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet  entered  the  swamp,  and  when 
within  about  hfty  rods  of  their  fort,  were  met  and  attack¬ 
ed  by  the  enemy-— the  Indians  in  their  usual  manner, 
shouting  and  howling  like  beasts  of  prey,  commenced 
the  attack  with  savage  fury  ;  but  with  a  hideous  noise, 
the  English  were  not  to  be  intimidated;  charging  them 
with  unequalled  bravery,  the  enemy  were  soon  glad  to 
seek  shelter  within  the  walls  of  their  fort  ; — the  English 
having  closely  pressed  upon  the  enemy,  as  they  retreat¬ 
ed,  now  in  turn  found  themselves  in  a  very  disagreeable 
situation,  exposed  to  the  lire  of  the  Indians  (who  were 
covered  by  a  high  breastwork)  they  were  not  even  ena¬ 
bled  to  act  on  the  defensive.— At  this  critical  juncture 
the  lion-hearted  Oneco,  with  the  assent  of  Gen.  Wins¬ 
low,  offered  (with  the  men  under  his  command)  to  scale 
the  walls  of  the  fort,  which  being  approved  of  by  the 
English  commanders,  Onego,  with  about  sixty  picked 
men,  in  an  instant  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  fort ;  where 
haying  a  fair  chance  at  the  enemy,  they  hurled  their 
tomahawks  and  discharged  their  arrows  with  such  sue-. 


—51 


eess  among  them,  as  in  a  very  short  time  to  throw  them 
into  the  utmost  confusion  ;  those  who  attempted  to  es¬ 
cape  from  the  fort,  were  instantly  cut  in  pieces  by  the 
troops  without — the  enemy  finding  themselves  thus  hem- 
rued  in,  and  attacked  on  all  sides,  in  the  most  abject 
terms  begged  for  quarter,  which  was  denied  thbm  by  the  * 
English — a  great  proportion  of  the  troops  being  now 
mounted  on  the  walls  of  the  fort,  they  had  nothing  to  do 
but  load  and  fire,  the  enemy  being  penned  up  and  hud-v  £ 
died  together  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  was  scarcely 
a  shot  lost.— This  bloody  contest  was  of  near  six  hours 
continuance,  when  the  English  perceiving  the  fort  filled 
with  nought  but  dead,  or  such  as  were  mortally  wounded 
of  the  enemy,  closed  the  bloody  conflict. 

The  scene  of  action  at  this  instant  was  indeed  such  as 
could  not  fail  to  shock  the  stoutest  hearted  ! — the  huge 
logs  of  which  the  fort  was  constructed,  were  completely 
crimsoned  with  the  blooc]  of  the  epemy,  while  the  sur¬ 
rounding  woods  resounded  with  the  dying  groans  of  the 
wounded. — The  number  of  slain  of  the  enemy  in  this 
severe  engagement,  could  not  be  ascertained,  it  was 
however  immense;  of  4000  which  the  fort  was  sup-, 
posed  to  contain  at  the  commencement  of  the  action, 
not  200  escaped  !  among  whom  unfortunately  was  the 
treacherous  Philip. 

# 

After  the  close  of  this  desperate  action,  the  troojos 
(having  destroyed  all  in  their  power)  left  the  enemy's 
ground,  and  carrying  about  300  wounded  men  marched 
back  to  the  distance  of  sixteen  miles  to  head-quarters  ; 

the  night  proved  cold  and  stormy,  the  snow  fell  deep, 
and  it  was  not  until  midnight  or  after  that  the  troops 
were  enabled  to  reach  their  place  of  destination — many 
of  the  wounded,  who  probably  otherwise  might  have  re¬ 
covered,  perished  with  the  cold  and  inconvenience  of  a 
Search  so  fatiguing. 


Although  the  destruction  of  so  great  a  number  of  the 
enemy  was  considered  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
English,  yet  it  proved  a  conquest  dearly  bought— it  was 
obtained  at  the  expence  of  the  lives  of  not  only  a  great 
number  of  privates,  but  a  great  proportion  of  their  most 
valuable  officers  ;  among  whom  were  Captains  Daven¬ 
port,  Gardner,  Johnson,  Siely,  and  Marshall — on 
enumerating  -  he  ir  p^mber  of  slain  and  wounded,  it  was 
found  as  "follows 

Of  the  companies  commanded  by 
Captains  Mosfl y,  -  -  -  -  10  killed,  40  wounded* 


1  Oliver,  -  .  .  -  20  -  -  -  -  48 
Gardner,  -  --  11-.-  -  32 

Johnson,  -  --  --  18  -  --  -38 
Davenport,  -  -  -  15  -  -  -  -  19 
Gallop,  -  --  --28  -  --  -43 
Si  ely,  ------  32  -  -  f  -  50 

Watts,  -  ----19  -  --  -33 

Mason,  -  --  .  -40  -  --  -50 
Marshall,  -  --2 5  -  --  -37 
Gor  AM,  .-.--30  -.--41 
Sachem  Oneco,  -  --  --  51----  82 


Total,  299  Total,  513 

The  courage  displayed  during  the  action  by  every 
part  of  the  army — the  invincible  heroism  of  the  officers 
—the  firmness  and  resolution  of  the  soldiers,  when  they 

1 

saw  their  captains  falling  before  them — and  the  hardships 
endured  before  and  after  the  engagement,  ^re  hardly 
credible,  and  rarely  find  a  parallel  in  ancient  or  modern 
ages  ! — the  cold  (th$  day  preceding  the  action)  was  ex¬ 
treme,  and  in  the  night  of  which,  the  snow  fell  so  deep 
as  to  render  it  extremely  difficult  for  the  army  to  move 
the  day  succeeding  four  hundred  of  the  soldiers  were 
so  completely  frozen  as  to  be  unfit  for  duty  1 — the  Con-  % 
necticut  troops  were  the  most  disabled,  having  endured 
a  tedious  march  without  halting  from  Stonington  to  the 


place  of  public  rendezvous— they  sustained  too  a  much 
greater  loss  in  the  action,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers, 
than  the  troops  of  the  other  colonies — the  bold  and  in¬ 
trepid  Capt.  Mason  (who  received  a  fatal  wound  in  the 
action,  of  which  he  died  in  about  three  months  after)  was 
the  first  after  the  Mohegans  to  mount  the  walls  of  the 
fort,  nor  did  the  troops  under  his  command  fail  to  follow 
the  noble  example. 

The  loss  of  the  troops  from  Connecticut  was  so  great 
that  Major  Treat  conceived  it  absolutely  necessary  to 
return  immediately  home— such  of  the  wounded  as  were 
not  able  to  travel  were  put  on  board  a  vessel  and  convey¬ 
ed  to  Stonington— the  troops  on  their  return  killed  and 
captured  about  SO  of  the  enemy. 

The  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  forces  kept  the  field 
the  greatest  part  of  the  winter — they  ranged  the  coun¬ 
try,  took  a  number  of  prisoners,  destroyed  about,  300 
^yigwarms,  but  achieved  nothing  brilliant  or  decisive. 

The  Nipnet  and  Narraganset  trihes  being  by  the  late 
action  nearly  exterminated,  the  few  that  survived  (by 
the  direction  of  Philie)  fled  in  small  parties  to  different 
parts  of  the  country,  improving  every  opportunity  that 
presented  to  revenge  the  untimely  fate  of  their  brethren. 
—On  the  10th  February,  1678,  about  100  of  them  sur¬ 
prized  the  inhabitants  of  Lancaster  (Mass.)  a  part  of 
*  * 

whom,  as  a  place  of  greater  safety,  had  the  day  previous 
resorted  to  the  dwelling  of  the  Rev,  Mr.  Rowland  ;  this 
however  being  constructed  of  dry  logs,  was  set  fire  to 
by  the  Indians,  which  the  unfortunate  English  within 
being  unable  to  extinguish,  they  fell  victims  to  the  de¬ 
vouring  fumes.— On  the  21st  the  enemy  attacked  the 
inhabitants  of  Medfield,  32  of  whom  they  killed  and  of 
•  the  remainder  made  captives. 

On  the  3d  March,  the  Indians  still  continuing  their 
depredations,  two  companies  of  cavalry,  under  the  com- 


^-5d 


saand  of  Capt.  Pierce,  and  Capt.  Watkins,  were  or¬ 
dered  out  for  the  purpose  of  affording  protection  to  the 
defenceless  inhabitants  of  towns  most  exposed  to  their  in¬ 
cursions — on  the  5th  they  marched  to  Pautuxet,  near 
where  there  were  a  considerable  body  of  Indians  en¬ 
camped,  whom  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  they  fell  in 
with  and  attacked — the  enemy  at  first  appeared  but  few 

f 

in  number,  but  these  were  only  employed  to  decoy  the 
English,  who  on  a  sudden  found  themselves  surrounded 
by  near  300  Indians,  who,  with  their  tomahawks  and 
scalping  knives,  rushing  furiously  upon  them,  threaten¬ 
ed  them  with  instant  destruction ! — The  English  now 
acting  upon  the  defensive,  although  surrounded  by  five 
times  their  number,  fought  with  their  usual  spirit,  and 
were  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  at  as  dear  rate  as  possi¬ 
ble,  they  were  very  soon  however  compelled  to  yield 
to  the  superior  force  of  their  savage  enemies ;  but 
five  escaped  ! — This  victory,  though  of  considerable  im¬ 
portance  to  the  savages,  cost  them  a  number  of  their 
bravest  warriors,  93  of  whom  were  the  proceeding  day 
found  dead  upon  the  field  of  action  there  were  in  this 
engagement  about  20  friendly  Indians  with  the  English, 
who  fought  like  desperadoes,  one  of  them  observing  Capt. 
Pierce  unable  to  stand,  in  consequence  of  the  many 
wounds  he  had  received,  for  nearly  two  hours  bravely 
defended  him  j  when  perceiving  his  own  iminent  danger, 
and  that  he  could  afford  the  captain  no  further  assistance, 
by  blacking  his  face  as  the  enemy  had  done,  escaped  un¬ 
noticed. 

On  the  25th  March,  a  party  of  Indians  attacked  and 
burnt  the  towns  of  Weymouth  and  Warwick,  killing  a 
great  number  of  the  inhabitants.— On  the  10th  April 
following  they  pillaged  and  burnt  Rehoboih  and  Provi¬ 
dence. 

On  the  1st  May  a  company  of  English  and  150 


— 55— 


Vegans,  under  command  of  Capt.  George  Dennison* 
were  sent  in  pursuit  of  a  body  of  the  enemy  command¬ 
ed  by  the  son  of  Miantinomi  ;  on  the  8th  they  met  7 
with  and  attacked  them  near  Groton — the  Indians,  ap¬ 
parently  determined  on  victory  or  death,  displayed  an 
unusual  degree  of  courage,  but  the  English  and  Mohe- 
gans  proved  too  strong  for  them,  who  r.fter  destroying 
the  greater  part  with  their  muskets  and  tomahawks, 
drove  the  remainder  into  a  neighboring  river,  where  they 
soon  perished. 

On  the  23d,  Cononchet,  Sachem  of  the  few  scattered 
remains  of  the  Narragansets,  proposed  to  his  Council 
that  the  lands  bordering  on  Connecticut  river,  not  inhabfe  X' 
ited  by  the  English,  should  be  by  them  planted  with 
corn,  lor  their  future  subsistence  ;  which  being  approved 
of  by  the  latter,  200  of  the  Narragansets  were  despatch¬ 
ed  for  this  purpose,  the  Governor  being  apprized  of  their 
intentions  despatched  three  companies  of  cavalry  to  in¬ 
tercept  them  ;  about  100  of  the  Mohegans,  under  the  . 
command  ef  Oneco,  accompanied  the  English — the  ene¬ 
my  were  commanded  by  Cononchet  in  person,  who  first 
proceeded  to  Seconk  to  procure  seed  corn  ;  it  was  in  the 
neighborhood  of  this  place  that  they  were  first  met  with 
and  engaged  by  the  English  and  Mohegans — the  enemy 
with  becoming  bravery  for  a  long  time  withstood  the  at¬ 
tack,  but  being  but  poorly  provided  with  weapons,  they 
were  at  length  overpowered  and  compelled  to  yield  to  the 
superior  power  of  their  enemies — in  the  midst  of  the 

.  i  , 

action,  Cononchet,  fearful  of  the  issue,  deserted  his  men 
and  aitempted  to  seek  shelter  in  a  neighboring  wood,  but 
being  recognized  by  the  Mohegans,  they  pursued  him— 
Cononchet  perceiving  himself  nearly  overtaken  by  his 
pursuers,  to  facilitate  his  flight  first  threw  away  his  blan¬ 
ket,  and  then  his  silver  laced  coat  (with  which  he  had 
been  presented  by  the  English  a  few  weeks  previous,) 


but  finding  that  lie  could  not  escape  from  his  pursuers  b f 
flight,  he  plunged  into  a  river,  where  he  was  even  follow¬ 
ed  by  half  a  dozen  resolute  Mohegans,  who  laying  hold 
of  him  forced  him  under  water  and  there  held  him  until 
drowned. — The  loss  of  the  English  and  Mohegans  in  this 
engagement  was  12  killed,  and  21  wounded,  that  of  the 
enemy  was  43  killed  and  about  80  wounded. 

The  inhabitants  of  New-London,  Norwich  and  Ston- 
i-ngton,  having  frequently  discovered  a  number  of  the 
enemy  lurking  about  in  small  bodies  in  the  adjacent 
woods,  by  joint  agreement  voluntarily  enlisted  them¬ 
selves  (to  the  number  of  300)  under  the  command  of 
Major  Palmer ,  and  Captains  Den nisqn  and  Aveby, 
Who  with  the  assistance  of  the  Mohegans  and  a  few 
friendly  Narraganscts  in  three  expeditions  destroyed 
near  1003  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  8th  June  the  Indians  assaulted  and  burnt 
Bridgewater,  a  small  settlement  in  the  colony  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  ;  forty  of  its  inhabitants  fell  victims  to  savage 
barbarity. 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  colony, 
aware  of  the  danger  to  which.mgny  of  the  inland  settle¬ 
ments  were  exposed,  by  frequent  incursions  of  the  ene¬ 
my.  and  finding  it  extremely  difficult  to  raise  a  sufficient 
force  to  oppose  them  in  the  many  parts  to  which  the 
fragments  of  the  broken  tribes  had  resorted,  adopted  the 
policy  of  sending  among  them,  as  sptSs,  such  Indians  as 
were  friendly  ar.d  could  be  depended  on  ;  which  plan  had 
its  desired  effect — these  Indians  representing  the  force  of 
the  English  much  greater  than  it  really  was,  and  warn¬ 
ing  the  enemy  of  danger  which  did  not  at  that  lime  ex¬ 
ist,  deterred  them  from  acting  in  many  instances  on  the 
offensive.- — One  of  the  friendly  Indians  returning  to  Bos¬ 
ton  on  the  10th  July,  reported  as  follows  ’ “  that  a  large 
number  of  Indians  were  embodied  in  a  wood  near  Lan- 


caster,  which  village  they  intended  to  attack  and  burn  in 
a  few  days,  that  they  had  been  encouraged  to  continue 
the  war  with  the  English  by  Frenchmen ,  from  the  great 
lake,  who  had  supplied  them  with  fire-arms  and  ammu¬ 
nition!” 

On  the  receipt  of  this  important  information,  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  dispatched  three  companies  of  cavalry,  under  the 
command  of  Major  Savage,  for  the  defence  of  Lancas¬ 
ter,  who  unfortunately  by  mistaking  the  road  fell  into 
an  ambush  of  about  350  Indians,  by  whom  they  were 
instantly  surrounded — -the  English  exhibited  great  pre¬ 
sence  of  mind,  and  repelled  the  attack  of  the  enemy  in 
a  very  heroic  maimer  ;  the  savages  being  however  well 
provided  with  fire-arms,  soon  gained  a  complete  victory 
oyer  the  English,  whose  loss  in  this  unfortunate  engage¬ 
ment  Was  fifty- four  1 — —the  number  of  killed  and  wound¬ 
ed  of  the  enemy  could  not  be  ascertained  as  they  re¬ 
mained  masters  of  the  field  of  action. 

On  the  15th  a  severe  engagement  took  place  between 
a  company  of  English  cavalry  and  about  300  of  the  en¬ 
emy,  near  Groton — the  latter  were  not  perceived  by  the 
former,  until  they  were  within  a  few  paces  of  them  (the 
Indians  having  concealed  themselves  in  the  bushes)  when 
suddenly  issuing  forth  with  a  hideous  yell,  the  cavalry 
were  thrown  into  confusion,  but  instantly  forming  and 
charging  the  enemy  with  great  spirit,  they  fied  in,  every 
direction— the  cavalry,  in  attempting  to  pursue  them, 
were  once  more  ambushed  ;  the  contest  now  became 
close  and  severe,  the  Indians  having  succeeded  in  de¬ 
coying  the  English  into  a  thick  wood,  attacked  them 
with  great  fury  and  success,— -The  commander  of  the 
English  being  killed,  every  man  sought  his  own  safety— 
of  forty-five  of  which  the  company  was  composed,  but 
twelve  escaped  1 — the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  however 
supposed  to  be  much  greater. 

H 


On  the  i  2th  August  a  party  of  Indians  entered  thd  - 
town  of  Westfield,  killed  and  took  several  of  the  in** 
habitants  prisoners,  and  burnt  several  houses. — Three  of 

•Si*  ..  i 

them  soon  after  made  their  appearance  at  a  house  njg.ar 
said  town  and  fired  at  the  man  at  his  door,  who  fell ;  they 
ran  towards  him,  and  one  of  them  stooping  to  scalp  him, 
he  was  saluted  by  the  man’s  wife,  with  a  stroke  Iron*  a 
large  hatchet,  which  went  so  completely  into  his  body, 
that  at  three  different  efforts  she  could  not  disengage  it, 
and  the  Indian  made  off  with  it  sticking  in  him  ;  a  se¬ 
cond  Indian  also  made  an  attempt,  when  she,  by  a  well 
directed  stroke  with  a  stick  she  had  got,  laid  him  on  the 
ground  ;  the  third  then  run,  and  the  other,  as  soon  as  he 
had  recovered  his  feet,  followed  the  example,  on  which 
the  woman  took  her  husband  in  her  arms  and  carried 
him  into  the  house,  where  he  soon  after  recovered. 

On  the  17th,  a  party  of  Indians  commenced  an  attack 
on  Northampton,  but  there  being  a  number  of  English 
soldiers  therein  stationed,  the  epemy  were  repulsed. 

On  the  20;b,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Spring- 
field  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians  as  they  were 
returning  from  divine  service,  and  although  the  former 
were  provided  with  fire-ai ms,  the  enemy  succeeded  in 
making  prisoners  of  two  women  and  several  children, 
whom  they  soon  after  inhumanly  tomahawked  and  scalp¬ 
ed  ;  in  which  situation  they  were  the  succeeding  day  found 
by  a  party  of  English  sent  out  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
—one  of  the  unfortunate  women  (although  shockingly 
mangled)  was  found  still  alive,  and  when  so  far  recovered 
as  to  be  enabled  to  speak,  gave  the  following  account  of 
the  fate  of  her  unfortunate  companions,  to  wit  : — “  That 
they  were  first  conveyed  by  the  savages  to  a  thick  wood, 
where  they  were  severally  bound  with  cords,  that  the 
Indians  soon  after  built  a  fire  and  regaled  themselves 
with  what  they  had  previously  stolen  from  the  English  j 


I 


59 


that  soon  after  a  warm  dispute  arose  between  them,  re¬ 
lative  to  the  prisoners,  each  claiming  the  women  for  their 
squaws  (or  wives)  that  they  at  length  proceeded  to  blows, 
and  after  beating  each  other  for  some  time  with'  clubs, 
it  was  agreed  by  both  parties  (to  prevent  further  alterca¬ 
tion)  that  the  women  should  be  put  to  death,  which  they, 
as  they  supposed,  carried  immediately  into  execution  ; 
the  unfortunate  narrator  received  a  severe  blow  on  the 
head,  which  brought  her  senseless  to  the  ground,  and 
while  m  this  situation,  was  scalped  and  left  for  dead  by 
her  savage  enemies  !” 

The  inhabitants  of  Sudbury,  with  a  company  of  sol¬ 
diers  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Jacobs,  of  Marlbo¬ 
rough,  alarmed  at  the  near  approach  of  the  enemy  (who, 
to  the  number  of  about  200  were  encamped  near  that 
place)  resolved  to  attack  them  at  night  ;  accordingly 
on  the  6th  September  they  marched  within  view  of  them, 
and  at  night  (as  they  lay  extended  around  a  large  fire) 
approached  them  unperceived  fwithin  gun  shot,  when 
they  gave  them  the  contents  of  their  muskets  ;  many  of 
those  that  remained  unhurt,  being  suddenly  aroused  from 
their  slumber  by  the  yellsrof  their  wounded  brethren, 
and  imagining  that  they  were  completely  surrounded  by 
the  English  (whom  the  darkness  of  the  night  prevented 
their  seeing)  threw  themselves  into  the  fire  which  they 
had  enkindled,  and  there  perished  j  but  few  if  any  escap¬ 
ed — in  this  attack  the  English  sustained  no  loss. 

On  the  25th,  a  considerable  body  of  the  enemy  attack¬ 
ed  theinhabitants  of  Marlborough,  many  of  whom  they 
killed,  and  set  fire  to  their  houses— a  company  of  Eng¬ 
lish  who  had  been  ordered  from  Concord  for  the  defence 
of  this  place  were  cut  off  by  the  savages  and  totally  de¬ 
stroyed — two  other  companies  despatched  from  Boston, 
for  the  like  purpose,  met  with  the  same  fate — it  appeared 
that  the  Governor,  on  learning  the  situation  of  the  urj- 


fortunate  inhabitants  of  Marlborough,  despatched  to 
their  relief  two  companies  under  the  command  of  Cap- 

i 

tains  Wadsworth  and  Smith,  who  before  they  arrived 
at  their  place  of  destination,  were  informed  that  the  sav¬ 
ages  had  quit  Marlborough,  and  proceeded  for  Sudbury, 
(12  miles  distant)  which  induced  the  English  to  alter 
their  course  and  proceed  immediately  for  the  latter  place 
—of  this,  it  appeared,  that  the  enemy  had  been  apprized 
by  their  runners,  and  had  lain  a  plan  to  cut  them  off  ere 
they  should  reach  Sudbury,  which  they  in  the  following 
manner  completely  effected— learning  the  course  which 
the  English  would  take,  they  within  a  few  rods  thereof 
stationed  50  or  60  of  their  number  in  an  open  field,  who 
were  ordered  to  retreat  into  a  neighboring  thicket  as  soon 
as  discovered  and  pursued  by  the  English  ;  in  this  thick¬ 
et  the  remainder  of  the  Indians,  to  the  number  of  about 
300  concealed  themselves  by  lying  prostrate  on  their 
bellies — the  English  on  their  arrival,  espying  the  In* 
dians  in  the  field,  and  presuming  them  to  be  but  few  in 
Dumber,  pursued  and  attacked  them,  who  very  soon  re¬ 
treated  to  the  fatal  spot  where  their  treacherous  brethren 
lay  concealed  and  prepared  to  give  their  pursuers  a  warm 
if  not  a  fatal  reception  ;  here  they  were  closely  pursued 
by  the  English,  who  too  late  discovered  the  fatal  snare 
which  had  been  laid  for  them  ;  in  an  instant  they  were 
completely  surrounded  and  attacked  on  all  sides  by  the 
savages  ;  the  English  for  several  hours  bravely  defended 
themselves,  but  at  length  were  borne  down  by  numbers 
far  superior  to  their  own— thus  fell  the  brave  captain 
Wadsworth,  and  captain  Smith,  as  well  as  most  of 
the  troops  under  their  command. 

The  Indians  bordering  on  the  river  Merrimack,  feel¬ 
ing*  themselves  injured  by  the  encroachments  cf  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  once  more  reassumed  the  bloody  tomahawk,  which 
had  been  buried  for  a  number  of  years.*** On  the  Hi  No 


yernber  they  in  a  considerable  body  entered  the  villages 
of  Chelmsford  and  Woburn,  and  indiscriminately  put  tp 
death  every  inhabitant  they  contained,  not  sparing  the 
infant  at  the  breast  l — On  the  9th  they  burnt  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Eames,  near  Concord,  killed  his  wife  and  threw 

her  body  into  the  flames,  and  made  captives  of  his  chi!- 

* 

dren.— On  the  15th  they  took  prisoner  a  young  woman 
(sixteen  years  of  age)  who,  by  the  family  with  whom 
she  resided,  had  been  placed  on  a  hill  in  the  neighbour¬ 
hood  of  their  dwelling  to  watch  the  motions  of  t  he  ene¬ 
my — the  account  which  the  young  woman  gave  of  her 
capture  and  escape  was  as  follow  that  “  on  the  morn¬ 
ing  of  her  capture,  the  family  having  been  informed -that 
a  party  of  Indians  had  the  day  previous  been  discovered 
in  a  neighbouring  wood,  she  (by  their  request)  ascend¬ 
ed  a  hill  near  the  house  to  watch  their  motions,  and  a- 
iarm  the  family  if  seen  approaching  the  house  ;  that  a- 
kout  noon  she  discovered  a  number  of  them  ascending 
the  bill  in  great  haste,  that  she  immediately  thereupon 
attempted  to  evade  them  by  retiring  into  a  thicket,  but 
that  the  Indians  (who  it  appeared  had  before  observed 
her)  found  her  after  a  few  moments  seardh,  and  compel* 
led  her  to  accompany  them  to  their  settlement,  about  40 
miles  distant — it  was  here  they  gave  her  to  understand 
must  remain  and  become  their  squaw,  and  dress  and 
cook  their  victuals— that  she  remained  with  them  about 
three  weeks,  during  which  time  they  made  several  ex¬ 
peditions  against  the  English,  and  returned  with  a  great 
number  of  human  scalps— that  on  the  night  of  the  6th 
December,  they  returned  with  six  horses,  which  they 
had  stolen  from  the  English,  which  having  turned  into 
a  small  enclosure  they  set  out  on  a  new  expedition — 
that  she  viewed  this  as  a  favourable  opportunity  to  escape, 
to  effect  which,  she  caught  and  mounted  one  of  the  hor¬ 
ses,  and  making  use  of  a  strip  of  bark  for  a  bridle,  she 


penetrated  a  wild  and  pathless  wood*  and  arrived  at 
Concord  at  seven  o’clock  the  morning  proceeding,  hav¬ 
ing  travelled  all  the  preceding  night  to  evade  the  pursuit 
of  the  enemy  !” — In  like  manner  did  one  of  the  children 
of  Mr.  Eames  (of  whose  capture  mention  is  made  in 
the  preceding  page)  escape  from  the  Indians,  although 
but  ten  years  of  age,  he  travelled  sixty  miles  through  an 
uninhabited  wood,  subsisting  on  acrons  ! 

On  the  12th  December  a  party  of  Indians  attacked 
and  killed  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bradford.  The 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  colony,  for  the  protection  of 
the  defenceless  inhabitants  on  the  Merrimack,  ordered 
the  raising  and  equipping  of  four  companies  of  cavalry, 
to  the  command  of  which  were  appointed  captains  Sill* 
Holyoke,  Cutler  and  Prentice. 

On  the  23d  the  above  troops  proceeded  for  the  borders 
of  the  Merrimack,  and  on  the  26th  fell  in  with  a  con¬ 
siderable  body  of  the  enemy  whom  they  engaged  and 
completely  defeated. — On  the  4th  January,  1679,  Capt. 
Prentice,  detached  from  the  main  body,  fell  in  with 
and  engaged  about  100  of  the  enemy  in  the  neighbour¬ 
hood  of  Amherst,  whom  he  likewise  defeated,  but  with 
considerable  loss  on  his  part. 

On  the  6th,  a  son  of  the  brave  Capt.  Holyoke,  of 
Springfield,  receiving  information  that  a  number  of  the 
enemy  in  small  bodies  were  skulking  about  in  the  woods 
bordering  on  that  town,  with  twenty  resolute  young  men 
inarched  out  to  attack  them— falling  in  with  a  considera- 
ble  body  of  them,  an  engagement  ensued,  which  though 
severe  terminated  at  length  in  favour  of  the  English-^ 
the  Indians  being  furnished  with  muskets,  were  unwil¬ 
ling  to  give  ground,  and  would  probably  have  remained 
masters  of  the  field  had  not  the  English  received  a  rein¬ 
forcement  which  put  them  to  flight— the  loss  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  in  the  engagement  was  5  killed  and  9  wounded,  and 


that  of  the  enemy  23  killed  and  between  30  and  40 
wounded. 

The  savages  were  no  longer  confined  to  any  particular 
tribe  or  place,  but  in  parties  from  50  to  300,  were  scat¬ 
tered  all  over  the  thinly  inhabited  parts  of  New-England 
—a  considerable  body  of  them  were  yet  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  Hadley,  Deerfield  and  Northampton,  where  they 
were  continually  committing  their  wanton  acts  of  barba¬ 
rity. — Several  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  above 
mentioned,  duly  reflecting  on  the  danger  to  which  they 
and  their  families  were  daily  exposed,  formed  themselves 
into  several  companies  and  made  choice  of  their  com¬ 
manders.— On  the  4ih  February,  receiving  information 
that  there  were  near  200  Indians  embodied  in  a  swamp 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Deerfield,  the  above  mentioned 
force  marched  to  attack  them  ;  arriving  within  view  of 
them  about  day-break,  they  discovered  them  in  a  pro¬ 
found  sleep  stretched  out  upon  the  ground  around  their 
fire— the  cavalry  immediately  thereupon  alighted,  and 
after  forming  themselves,  approached  them  within  pistol 
shot  before  they  were,  discovered  by  the  enemy  ;  who, 
beng  suddenly  aroused  from  their  slumber,  and  aston¬ 
ished  at  the  unexpected  appearance  of  so  many  of  their 
enemies,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  English,  who,  without 
the  loss  of  a  man,  kilied  120  of  them  ;  the  remainder,  as 
the  only  means  of  escape,  having  plunged  into  a  river, 
where  probably  many  of  them  perished. 

Although  the  English  atchieved  this  action  without  any 
loss  on  their  part,  they  were  on  their  return  unhappily 
ambushed  by  about  400  of  the  enemy— -the  English  hav¬ 
ing  expended  all  their  ammunition  in  the  late  engage¬ 
ment,  and  being  much  fatigued,  were  now  in  turn  likely 
to  fall  an  easy  prey  to  their  enemies,  who,  with  their 
bloody  knives  and  tomahawks,  for  the  space  of  an  hour, 
attacked  them  with  the  greatest  success— not  one  of  the 


English  it  is  probable  would  have  survived  t'  .s  bloody 
and  unexpected  attack,  had  it  not  been  for  the  presence 
of  mind  of  their  brave  commander  (Capt.  Holyoke,) 
who  by  a  stratagem,  succeeded  in  saving  a  part  of  them 
—Capt.  Holyoke  had  his  horse  killed  under  him,  and 
at  one  time  was  attacked  by  five  of  the  enemy,  whom  he 
beat  off  with  his  cutlass  ; — the  loss  of  the  English  in  this 
unfortunate  action  was  51  killed  and  84  wounded,  many 
of  the  latter  survived  the  action  but  a  few  days — the  de¬ 
feat  and  destruction  of  the  English  in  this  engagement 
was  much  to  be  lamented,  as  among  the  slain  were  the 
heads  of  several  families,  who  had  volunteered  their  ser¬ 
vices  in  defence  of  their  infant  settlements. 

On  the  lOih  several  hundreds  of  the  enemy,  encour¬ 
aged  by  their  late  success,  appeared  before  Hatfield  and 
fired  several  dwelling-houses  without  the  fortification  of 
the  town — the  inhabitants  of  Hadley  being  seasonably 
apprized  of  the  situation  of  their  brethren  at  Hatfield,  a 
number  of  them  volunteered  their  services  and  matched 
to  their  relief — the  Indians,  as  they  were  accustomed  to 
do  on  the  approach  of  the  English?  lay  flat  on  their  bel¬ 
lies  until  the  latter  had  advanced  within  bow  shot,  whert 
partly  rising,  they  discharged  a  shower  of  arrows  among 
them,  which  wounded  several  of  the  English ;  but  they 
having  wisely  reserved  their  fire,  now  in  turn  levelled 
their  pieces  with  the  best  effect  before  the  savages  had 
time  to  recover  their  legs,  about  80  of  whom  were  in¬ 
stantly  dispatched  and  the  remainder  despersed. 

On  the  1 5th  February,  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
colony  receiving  information  that  the  Indians  were  col¬ 
lecting  in  great  numbers  under  the  immediate  guidance 
ot  Philip,  near  Brookfield,  dispatched  Capt*  Hench* 
man,  with  50  men  to  dislodge  them  ;  who  proceeding 
first  to  Hadley,  was  joined  by  a  company  of  cavalry 
from  Hartford— on  the  30  th  they  discovered  and  attack* 


*d  a  party  of  Indians  near  Lancaster,*  they  killed  fifty 
Of  them,  and  took  between  fifty  and  sixty  of  their  squaws 
and  children  prisoners.— Capt*  Henchman  on  his  way  to 
Brookfield  discovered  the  dead  bodies  of  several  of  his 
countrymen  half  consumed  by  fire,  who  it  appeared  had 
a  few  days  previous  fallen  victims  to  the  wanton  barbari¬ 
ty  of  the  savages. 

The  scattered  remains  of  the  enemy  being;  now  so 
completely  harrassed  and  driven  from  place  to  place  by 
the  English,  a  number  of  them  resorted  to  the  western 
country,  then  inhabited  by  the  Mohawks  ;  but  the  latter 
being  on  friendly  terms  with  the  English  and  Dutch,  who 
were  settling  among  them,  were  unwilling  to  harbor  their 
enemies,  and  consequently  attacked  a  considerable  body 
of  them  on  the  5th  March  ;  the  engagement  was  a  severe 
one — the  fugitive  Indians  being  furnished  with  fire-arms^ 
repelled  the  attack  of  the  Mohawks  with  a  becoming 
spirit,  but  were  at  length  overpowered  and  completely 
defeated— the  loss  on  both  sides  was  very  great. 

On  the  20th  the  Indians  took  a  Mr.  Willet  prisoner* 
near  Swanzey,  and  after  cutting  off  his  nose  and  ears 
set  him  at  liberty  1 — On  the  23d  they  made  prisoners  of 
the  family  of  a  Mrs  Barney,  of  Rehoboth,  consisting 
of  himself,  wife  and  six  children— two  of  the  youngest 
of  the  latter  they  killed  and  scalped,  and  threw  their 
mangled  bodies  to  their  dogs  to  devour  ! 

On  the  28th,  a  negro  man  who  had  been  for  several 
months  a  prisoner  among  the  savages,  escaped  from  them 
and  returned  to  the  English,  to  whom  he  gave  the  fol¬ 
lowing  information,  to  wit  that  the  enemy  were  con¬ 
certing  a  plan  to  attack  Taunton,  and  the  villages  adja¬ 
cent — that  for  this  purpose  there  were  then  embodied 
near  W orcester,  1000  of  them,  at  the  head  of  whom  was 
Philip,  and  .that  near  one  hundred  of  them  were  fur* 

lii&hed  with  fire-arms — that  a  few  days  previous  to  his 

I 


escape,  a  scouting  party  arrived  and' brought  in  with 
them  two  prisoners  and  three  human  scalps  !•— To  frus¬ 
trate  the  intentions  of  the  enemy  the  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusets  colony  dispatched  three  companies  of  cavalry 
for  the  defence  of  Taunton. 

The  English  of  Connecticut  colony,  although  but  lit¬ 
tle  troubled  with  the  enemy  since  the  destruction  of  the 
Pequots,  were  not  unwilling  to  afford  their  brethren  all  the 
assistance  possible  in  a  protracted  and  bloody  war  with 
the  common  enemy— they  accordingly  furnished  three 
companies  of  cavalry,  who  under  command  of  the  ex¬ 
perienced  Major  Talcott,  on  the  5th  April  proceeded 
to  the  westward  in  search  of  the  enemy — on  the  11th 
they  fell  in  with  attacked  and  defeated  a  considerable 
body  of  them — apparently,  by  the  special  direction  of 
divine  providence,  Maj.  Talcott  arrived  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  Hadley  in  time  to  preserve  the  town,  and 
save  its  inhabitants  from  total  destruction  !— the  savages 
to  the  number  of  500,  were  on  the  eve  of  commencing 
an  attack  when  they  were  met  by  the  Major,  with  the 
troops  under  his  command  ;  this  unexpected  relief  ani¬ 
mating  the  few  inhabitants  which  the  town  contained, 
they  hastened  to  the  assistance  cf  the  cavalry,  who  at 
this  moment  were  seriously  engaged  with  the  whole  body 
of  the  enemy — the  savages  having  gained  some  signal 
advantages,  victory  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  ap¬ 
peared  likely  to  decide  in  their  favor — fortunately,  the 
inhabitants  of  Hadley  having  for  their  defence  a  lew 
weeks  previous  procured  from  Boston  an  eight  pounder, 
it  was  at  this  critical  period  loaded  by  the  woman,  and 
being  mounted  was  by  them  conveyed  to  the  English, 
which  (being  charged  with  small  shot,  nails,  &c.)  was 
by  the  latter  discharged  with  the  best  effect  upon  the 
enemy,  who  immediately  thereupon  fled  in  every  direc¬ 
tion— -thus  it  was  that  the  English  in  a  great  measure 


owed  the  preservation  of  their  lives  to  the  unexampled 
heroism  of  a  few  women  ! 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  the  United  Colonies, 
taking  under  serious  consideration  the  miraculous  escape 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Hadley  from  total  destruction,  and 
the  recent  success  of  the  arms  of  the  English  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  appointed  the  27th  day  of  August, 
1679,  to  be  observed  throughout  the  Colonies  as  a  day 
of  Public  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  to  Almighty  God  ; 
— this,  it  may  be  well  to  observe,  was  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  an  annual  custom  of  our  forelathers,  which  to 
the  present  day  is  so  religiously  observed  by  their  de¬ 
scendants  throughout  the  New-England  states* 

On  the  3d  September,  the  Connecticut  troops  under 
command  of  Major  Talcott,  and  captains  Dennison 
and  Newbury,  proceeded  to  Narraganset  in  quest  of  the 
enemy,  who  to  the  number  of  about  300  had  been  dis¬ 
covered  in  a  piece  of  woods — the  English  were  accom¬ 
panied  by  their  faithful  friend  Oneco,  with  100  Mohe¬ 
gans  under  his  command.— In  the  evening  of  the  5th 
they  discovered  the  enemy  encamped  at  the  foot  of  a 
steep  hill,  on  which  Major  Talcott  made  arrangements 
for  an  attack— the  Mohegans  were  ordered  by  a  circui¬ 
tous  route  to  gain  the  summit  of  the  hill  to  prevent  the 
flight  of  the  enemy— two  companies  of  cavalry  were  or¬ 
dered  to  flank  them  on  the  right  and  left,  while  Major 
Talcott,  with  a  company  of  foot  stationed  himself  in 
their  rear— having  thus  disposed  of  his  forces  a  signal 
was  given  by  the  Major  for  the  Mohegans  to  commence 
the  attack,  which  they  did  and  with  such  spirit  (ac¬ 
companied  by  their  savage  yells)  that  had  the  enemy 
been  renowned  for  their  valour  they  must  have  been  to 
the  highest  degree  appalled  at  so  unexpected  an  onset  * 
—after  contending  a  few  moments  with  the  Mohegansa 
tbe  enemy  were  attacked  on  the  right  and  left  by  tins 


icmlry,  who  with  their  cutlasses  made  great  havock  a- 
mong  them  ;  they  were  however  unwilling  to  give  ground 
until  they  had  lost  nearly  one  half  their  number,  when 
they  attempted  a  flight  to  a  swamp  in  their  rear,  but 
here  they  were  met  by  Maj.  Talcott,  with  the  com¬ 
pany  of  foot,  who  gave  them  so  warm  a  reception  that 
they  once  more  fell  back  upon  the  Mohegans,  by  whom 
they  were  very  soon  overpowered  and  would  have  been 
totally  destroyed  had  not  Major  Talcott  humanly  in¬ 
terfered  in  their  behalf,  and  made  prisoners  of  the.  few 
that  remained  alive  ; — among  the  latter  was  their  leader* 
a  squaw,  commonly  termed  the  queen  of  Narraganset  ; 
and  among  them  an  active  young  fellow  who  begged  to 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  Mohegans,  that  they 
might  put  him  to  death  in  their  ewn  way,  and  sacrifice 
him  to  their  cruel  genius  of  revenge,  in  which  they  so 
much  delighted  1 — The  English,  although  naturally  a* 
verse  to  acts  of  savage  barbarity,  were  not  in  this  in¬ 
stance  unwilling  to  comply  with  the  voluntary  although 
unnatural  request  of  the  prisoner,  as  it  appeared  that  he 
had  in  presence  of  the  Mohegans  exultingly  boasted  of 
having  killed  19  of  the  English  with  his  gun  since  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  and  after  loading  it  for  the 
?Oth  (there  being  no  more  of  the  latter  within  reach) 
he  levelled  at  a  Mohegan,  whom  he  killed,  which  com¬ 
pleting  his  number,  he  was  willing  to  die  by  their  hands  ! 
~—the  Mohegans  accordingly  began  to  prepare  for  the 
tragical  event— forming  themselves  into  a  circle  (admit¬ 
ting  as  many  of  the  English  as  were  disposed  to  witness 
their  savage  proceedings)  the  prisoner  was  placed  in  the 
centre,  when  one  of  the  Mohegans,  who  in  the  late  en¬ 
gagement  had  lost  a  son,  with  his  knife  cut  off  the 
prisoners  ears  !  then  his  nose  i  and  then  the  fingers  of 
each  hand  ! — and  after  the  relapse  of  a  few  moments, 
$ug  out  his  eyes  and  filled  their  sockets  with  hot  em-s 


—69 


feersj  !— although  the  few  English  present  were  over¬ 
come  with  a  view  of  a  scene  so  shocking  to  humanity, 
yet  the  prisoner  (so  far  from  bewailing  his  fate)  seemed 
to  surpass  his  tormenters  in  expressions  of  joy  ! — when 
nearly  exhausted  with  the  loss  of  blood,  and  unable  long¬ 
er  to  stand,  his  executioner  closed  the  tragic  scene  by 
jbeating  out  his  brains  with  a  tomahawk  ! 

The  few  Indians  that  now  remained  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  Plymouth  colony,  being  in  a  state  of  starvation, 
they  surrendered  themselves  prisoners  to  the  English  ; 
one  of  whom  being  recognized  as  the  person  who  had  a 
few  days  previous  inhumanly  murdered  the  daughter  of  a 
Mr.  Clarke,  was  by  order  of  the  Governor  publicly 
executed  ;  the  remainder  were  retained  and  treated  as 
prisoners  of  war.— By  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  pri¬ 
soners,  who  served  as  guide,  20  more  of  the  enemy  were 
on  the  proceeding  day  surprized  and  taken  prisoners  by 
the  English. 

The  troops  under  the  command  of  Major  Bradford, 
*nd  Captains  Mosely  and  Brattle,  on  the  15th  Sep¬ 
tember  surprized  and  took  150  of  the  enemy  prisoners 
near  Pautuxet,  among  whom  was  the  squaw  of  the  cele¬ 
brated  Philip- — and  on  the  day  proceeding,  learning  that 
the  enemy  in  considerable  bodies  were  roving  about  in 
the  woods  near  Dedham,  Maj*  Bradford  despatched 
Capt.  Brattle  with  fifty  men  to  attack  them  $  who,  the 
day  following,  fell  in  with  and  engaged  about  100  of 
them —as  hatchets  were  the  only  weapons  with  which 
they  were  provided,  they  made  but  a  feeble  defence,  and 
were,  soon  overpowered  by  the  English,  who  took  T4  of 
them  prisoners,  the  remainder  having  fallen  in  the  action 
—the  loss  of  the  English  was  two  killed  and  five  wound¬ 
ed — the  above  party  was  commanded  by  a  blood  thirsty 
Sachem, called  Pomham,  renowned  for  his  bodily  strength, 
whjch  exceeded  that  of  any  of  his  countrymen  ever  met 


with _ he  bravely  defended  himself  to  the  last,  being 

wounded  in  the  breast,  and  unable  to  stand,  he  seized 
one  of  the  soldiers  while  in  the  act  of  dispatching  him 
with  the  butt  of  his  gun,  and  by  whom  he  would  have 
been  strangled,  had  he  not  been  fortunately  resqued  bjr 
one  of  his  comrades. 

A  general  famine  now  prevailing  among  the  enemy, 
in  consequence  of  being  deprived  of  an  opportunity  to 
plant  their  lands,  numbers  were  daily  compelled  by  hun¬ 
ger  to  surrender  themselves  prisoners  to  the  English, 
among  whom  was  a  Nipnet  Sachem,  accompanied  by  180 
of  his  tribe. 

On  the  12th  October,  Capt.  Church,  with  fifty  soldiers 
and  a  few  friendly  Indians  under  his  command,  attacked 
and  defeated  a  party  of  the  enemy  near  Providence — and 
on  the  day  following  (conducted  by  Indian  guides)  dis¬ 
covered  a  considerable  body  of  the  enemy  encamped  in 
a  swamp  near  Pomfret  ;  a  friendly  Indian  first  espying 
them,  commanded  them  to  surrender,  but  the  enemy  did 
not  appear  disposed  to  obey  ;  being  sheltered  by  large 
trees,  they  first  discharged  their  arrows  among  the  En¬ 
glish,  and  then  with  a  terrible  yell  attacked  them  with 
their  long  knives  and  tomahawks— the  English  meeting 
with  a  much  warmer  reception  than  what  they  expected, 
gave  ground,  but  being  rallied  by  their  old  and  experien¬ 
ced  commander,  Capt.  Church,  they  rushed  upon  them 
with  such  impetuosity  that  the  enemy  were  thrown  into 
confusion  and  dislodged  from  their  coverts— the  action 
continued  about  an  hour  and  a  quarter — the  English  had 
7  men  killed,  and  14  wounded,  among  the  latter  .-their 
brave  commander,  who  received  an  arrow  through  his 
left  arm — the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  32  killed  and  be¬ 
tween  60  and  70  wounded. 

On  the  24th,  information  was  forwarded  the  Governor 
and  Council  that  the  famous  Philip  (who  had  been  for  a 


longtime  skulking  about  in  the  woods  near  Mount-Hope, 
much  disheartened  by  the  ill  success  of  his  countrymen) 
was  the  morning  preceding  discovered  in  a  swamp  near 
that  place,  attended  by  about  90  Seaconet  Indians  ;  on 
which  the  brave  Capt.  Church,  with  his  little  band  of  in- 
vincibles  were  immediately  dispatched  in  pursuit  of  him 
—Capt.  Church  was  acompanied  as  usual  by  a  number 
of  the  Mohegans,  and  a  few  friendly  Seaconet  Indians— 
on  the  27th  they  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
swamp,  near  the  border  of  which  he  stationed  several  of 
the  Mohegans,  to  intercept  Philip  in  case  he  should  at¬ 
tempt  an  escape  therefrom.  Capt.  Church,  at  the  head 
of  his  little  band,  now  with  unconquerable  resolution 
plunged  into  the  swamp,  and  wading  nearly  to  his  waist 
in  water  discovered  and  attacked  the  enemy. — The  In¬ 
dians  were  nearly  100  strong,  but  being  unexpectedly  at¬ 
tacked  they  made  no  resistance  but  fled  in  every  direc¬ 
tion,  the  inaccessible  state  of  the  swamp  however  pre¬ 
vented  the  English  from  pursuing  them  with  success— 
their  dependence  was  now  upon  their  friends  stationed 
without — nor  did  it  appear  that  those  faithful  fellows  suf¬ 
fered  so  good  an  opportunity  to  pass  unimproved— the 
report  of  their  muskets  ^Qnvinced  Capt.  Church  that 
they  were  doing  their  “  duty- -in  confirmation  of  which 
he  was  very  soon  after  presented  with  the  head  of  King 
Philip  !  I  ^ 

Philip,  it  appeared  in  attempting  to  fly  from  his  pur¬ 
suers,  was  recognized  by  one  of  the  English,  who  had 
been  stationed  with  the  Mohegans  to  intercept  him,  and 
at  whom  hcfievelled  his  piece,  but  the  priming  being  un¬ 
fortunately  wet  and  preventing  the  discharge  thereof,  the 
cuanroaSLchem  would  yet  have  escaped  had  not  one  pf 
the  brave 'sons  of  Uncus  at  this  instant  given  him  the 
contents  of  his  musket  ! — the  ball  went  directly  through 
his  heart  1—  and  thus  fell  by  the  hands  of  a  faithful  Mohe- 


?2— 


^ah}  the  famous  Philip  !  who  was  the  projector  and  in¬ 
stigator  of  a  war  which  not  only  proved  the  cause  of  his 
own  destruction,  but  that  of  nearly  all  his  tribe,  once  thei 
most  numerous  of  any  inhabiting  New-Eng!and. 

It  was  at  this  important  instant  that  the  English  were 
made  witnesses  of  a  remarkable  instance  of  savage  cus¬ 
tom— -Oneco,  on  learning  that  Philip  had  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  one  of  his  tribe,  urged  that  ageeeable  to  their 
custom,  he  had  an  undoubted  right  to  the  body,  and  a 
right  to  feast  himself  Y/ith  a  piece  thereof!  which  the 
English  not  objecting  to,  he  deliberately  drew  his  long 
knife  from  his  girdle  and  with  it  detached  a  piece  of  flesh 
from  the  bleeding  body  of  Philip  of  about  one  pound 
weight,  which  he  broiled  and  eat,  in  the  mean  time 
declaring  that  “  he  had  not  for  many  moons  eaten  any  thing 
with  so  good  an  appetite  P*  The  head  cf  Philip  was  de¬ 
tached  from  his  body  and  sent  (by  Capt.  Church)  to 
Boston,  to  be  presented  to  the  Governor  and  Council,  as 
a  valuable  trophy. 

The  few  hostile  Indians  that  now  remained  within  the 
United  Colonies,  conscious  that  if  so  fortunate  as  to  e- 
vade  the  vigilance  of  the, ^English,  they  must  soon  fall 
victims  to  the  prevailing  MsWl^^Lv'.’i'h  their  families 
far  to  the  westward  ;  the  EngSRffre  disposed  rather 
to  facilitate  than  prevent  their  flight  having  been  fora 
number  of  years  engaged  in  a  destructive  and  bloody 
war  with  them,  they  were  willing  that  tlyj  few  that  re¬ 
mained  alive  should  escape  to  a  countr 
that  there  was  no  probability  of  their  ri 
surrie  the  bloody  tomahawk  ! — impressed 
and  that  the  enemy  were  completely  extfcr 
were  about  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  turn  their 
agricultural  pursuits,  when  by  an  express, 
formed  that  the  natives  in  the  eastemjp^ft  6: 

(Province  of  Maine)  had  unprovokedly  attacked  Jsnd  kil- 

*  '"IT6  m 


distant 
f  to  re  as- 


' 

I 


1 


Jed  a  considerable  number  of  the  English  in  that  quar¬ 
ter. 

To  quench  the  flame  which  appeared  to  be  enkindling 
in  the  east,  the  Governor  despatched  four  companies  of 
cavalry  to  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants. —  The 
enemy  (who  were  ol  the  Kennebeck  and  Amoscoggin 
tribes)  first  attacked  with  unprecedented  fury  the  de¬ 
fenceless  inhabitants  settled  on  Kennebeck  river,  the 
most  of  whom  were  destroyed  or  dispersed  by  them. 

On  the  2d  November,  about  TOO  of  the  enemy  attack-, 
ed  with  their  accustomed  fury  (accompanied  by  their  sav¬ 
age  yells)  the  inhabitants  of  Newchewannick,  an  English 
settlement  situated  a  few  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Kennebeck— -before  they  had  fully  accomplished 
their  hellish  purpose,  they  were  surprised  by  the  troops 
sent  from  Boston,  between  whom  a  most  bloody  engage¬ 
ment  now  ensued— the  Indians,  encouraged  by  their  num¬ 
bers,  repelled  the  attack  of  the  English  in  so  heroic  a 
manner,  that  the  latter  were  very  soon  thrown  into  disor¬ 
der  and  driven  out  of  town,  where  they  again  formed, 
faced  about  and  in  turn  charged  the  enemy  with  uncon¬ 
querable  resolution  l^j^i^^intest  now  became  close  and 
severe,  the  savage terrific  yells  dexteriousiy 
hurled  their  tomahawks  among  the  English,  while  the 
latter  with  as  much  dexterity,  attacked  and  mowed  them 
down  with  their  cutlasses  I — each  were  apparently  deter¬ 
mined  or^i^or’y./jr  death  !— the  English  at  one  moment, 
unable  to stand  the  impetuosity  of  the  savages,  would 
frivegroun»-at  the  next.,  the  Jatter  hard  pushed  by  the 
HjfcwoMd  fall  back— thus  for  the  space  of  two  hours 
d  appear  ball  a  ncing  between  the  two  ^conten  d  i  n  g 

field  of  action  was  covered  with  the  slain, 
while  th£ -adjacent  woods  resounded  with  the  shrieks  and 
groans  of  the  wotSfided  !— At  this  critical  juncture  the 
English,  when  on  the  very  point  of  surrendering,  wer<f» 


f  4  — 


providentially  preserved  by  a  stratagem— in  the  heat  of 
the  action,  Major  Bradford  despatched  a  company  of 
cavalry  by  a  circuitous  route  to  attack  the  enemy  in  the 
rear,  which  had  the  most  happy  effect— the  enemy  sus¬ 
pecting  this  company  a  reinforcement  of  the  English* 
fled  in  fvery  direction,  leaving  the  English  masters  of  the 
held — -thus,  after  two  hours  hard  fighting,  did  the  English 
obtain  a  victory  at  the  expence  of  the  lives  of  more  than 
half  their  number  1— their  killed  and  wounded  amounted 
to  ninety  nine  ! — the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  not  ascer¬ 
tained,  it  was  however  probably  three  times  greater  tha» 
that  of  the  English. 

The  day  proceeding  this  bloody  engagement,  a  lieu¬ 
tenant  with  12  men  were  sent  by  the  commander  to  the 
place  of  action  to  bury  their  dead,  when  they  were  a  few 
rods  therefrom,  unexpectedly  attacked  by  about  100  of 
the  enemy,  who  had  lain  in  ambush— the  lieutenant  or¬ 
dered  his  men  to  reserve  their  fire  until  they  could  dis¬ 
charge  with  the  best  effect  upon  the  enemy,  by  whom 
they  were  soon  surrounded  and  furiously  attacked  on  all 
aides  ;  the  savages  yelling  horribly,  brandished  their  long 
knives  in  the  air,  yet  crimsouajgtejtlh  the  blood  of  their 
countrymen — the  brave  littlPSuld  however  remained 
firm  and  undaunted,  and  as  the  savages  approached  them, 
«ach  taking  proper  aim,  discharged  with  so  good  effect 
upon  them,  that  the  Indians,  amazed  at  the  instantaneous 
destruction  of  so  many  of  their  comrades,  fled  in  every 
direction — the  English  sustained  no  loss. 

On  the  5th  the  enemy  successfully  attacked  the  inha¬ 
bitants  of  the  village  of  Casco,  30  of  whom  thej  ^Ued 
and  made  prisoners  of  the  family  of  a  Mr.  Bracket,  who 
on  the  7th  in  the  following  manner  made  their  escape  ; 
* — the  Indians  on  their  return  to  their  wigwarms,  learn¬ 
ing  that  a  detached  party  of  their  brethren  had  attacked 
with  success  and  plundered  the  village  of  Arow*ickj  t* 


75— 


enjoy  a  share  of  the  spoil  hastened  to  join  them,  leaving 
the  prisoners  in  the  care  of  two  old  men  and  three  squaws 
—Mr.  Bracket,  whose  family  consisted  of  himself, 
wife,  three  small  children  and  a  negro  lad,  viewed  this  as 
a  favourable  opportunity  to  escape,  to  effect  which,  he  re¬ 
quested  the  lad  to  attempt  an  escape  by  flight  which  (being 
uncommonly  active)  he  easily  effected  ;  the  plan  of  Mr. 
Bracket  had  now  its  desired  effect,  as  the  old  men 
pursuing  the  negro,  left  him  and  his  family  guarded  on¬ 
ly  by  the  three  squaws,  whom  (being  intoxicated)  he 
soon  dispatched  and  returned  the  day  proceeding  with 
his  family  to  Casco,  where  the  negro  lad  had  arrived  some 
hours  before*. 

On  the  15th  the  Indians  attacked  the  dwelling  houses 
of  a  Capt.  Bonitkon,  and  Maj.  Philips,  situated  on 
the  east  side  of  Casco  river— they  having  seasonable  no¬ 
tice  of  the  hostile  views  of  the  enemy  the  family,  of  the 
former  (as  a  place  of  greater  safely)  had  resorted  to  the* 
house  of  the  latter  a  few  moments  previous  to  the  attack. 
—The  savages  first  communicating  fire  to  the  house  of 
Capt.  Bonithon,  next  proceeded  furiously  to  attack  the 
dwelling  of  Maj.  Philips,  in  which  there  were  about 
twenty  persons,  by  whom  it  was  most  gallantly  defended 
—the  enemy  had  them  leader  and  a  number  of  their 
party  killed  by  the  fire  of  the  English— dispairing  of  tak¬ 
ing  the  house  by  assault  they  adopted  a  new  plan  to  com¬ 
municate  fire  thereto — they  procured  a  carriage  on  which 
they  erected  a  stage,  in  front  of  which  was  a  barricador 
rendered  bullet  proof,  and  to  which  long  poles  were  at¬ 
tached,  nearly  20  feet  in  length,  to  the  ends  of  which 
were  affixed  every  kind  of  combustible,  such  as  birch 
rinds,  straw,  pitch  pine,  See.— the  Indians  were  sheltered 
by  the  barricador  from  the  fire  of  the  English  while  they 
approached  the  walls  of  the  house  with  their  carriage— 
the  English  were  now  on  the  eve  of  despairing,  when 


—76— 


fortunately  one  of  the  wheels  of  the  carriage  being 
brought  in  contact  with  a  rock,  was  turned  completely 
round,  which  exposed  the  whole  body  of  Indians  to  their 
sre  I  —  this  unexpected  opportunity  was  improved  with 
the  greatest  advantage  by  the  English,  who  with  a  few 
rounds  soon  dispersed  the  enemy  with  no  inconsiderable 
*  loss. 

The  day  following  the  Indians  attacked  and  set  fire  to 
the  bouse  of  a  Mr.  Wakely,  whom  with  his  whole  fam¬ 
ily  they  murdered — a  company  of  English  apprized  of 
their  dangerous  situation  marched  to  their  relief,  but  ar¬ 
rived  too  late  to  afford  them  assistance — they  found  the 
house  reduced  to  ashes,  among  which  they  discovered 
the  mangled  bodies  of  the  unfortunate  family  half  con¬ 
sumed  by  fire  1 

Toe  savages,  emboldened  by  their  late  success,  on  the 
»  20th  a'tacked  a  small  English  settlement  on  Piscataqua 
river,  and  succeeded  in  murdering  a  part  and  carrying 
away  the  remainder  cf  the  inhabitants  into  captivity— as 
an  instance  of  their  wanton  barbarity,  it  should  be  he-re 
mentioned,  that  after  tomahawking  and  scalping  one  of 
the  unfortunate  women  of  the  above  place,  they  bouDd 
to  the  dead  body  her  little  infant,  in  which  situation  it 
was  the  proceeding  day  discovered  by  the  English,  at¬ 
tempting  to  draw  nourishment  from  its  mother’s  breast  I 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  the  United  Colonies, 
conceiving  it  their  duty  if  possible  to  put  a  final  stop  to 
the  ravages  of  the  enemy,  in  the  east,  and  to  prevent 
the  further  effusion  of  innocent  blood,  despatched  Major 
Wallis  and  Major  Bradford,  with  six  companies  un¬ 
der  their  command,  to  destroy  “  root  and  branch**  the 
common  enemy.— On  the  1st  December  they  arrived  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Kennebeck,  near  where  they  were 
informed  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  were  encamped — 
on  the  morning  of  the  dd  they  fell  in  with  rod  uu„ck-T 


—77— 


them— the  enemy,  who  were  about  800  strong,  appear¬ 
ed  disposed  to  maintain  their  ground  :  they  fought  with 
all  the  fury  of  savages,  and  even  assailed  the  English 
from  the  tops  of  lofty  trees  which  they  ascended  for  the 
purpose  ;  they  were  possessed  of  but  few  fire-arms,  but 
hurled  their  tomahawks  with  inconceivable  exactness,  and 
checked  the  progress  of  the  cavalry  with  long  spears  l — 
victory  for  a  long  time  remained  doubtful— -the  ground 
being  covered  with  snow,  greatly  retarded  the  progress 
of  the  troops,  who  probably  would  have  met  with  a  de¬ 
feat  had  not  a  fresh  company  of  infantry  arrived  in  time 
to  change  the  fortune  of  the  day — these  having  remained 
inactive  as  a  body  of  reserve^  the  commander  found 
himself  under  the  necessity  of  calling  for  their  aid— the 
enemy,  disheartened  at  the  unexpected  arrival  of  an  ad¬ 
ditional  number  of  the  English,  fled  with  precipitancy 
to  the  woods — but  very  few  of  them  however  escaped, ^ 
more  than  200  of  them  remained  dead  upon  the  field  of 
action,  and  double  that  number  mortally  wounded  !—*-the 
loss  of  the  English  was  25  killed  and  44  wounded.— 
This  engagement,  which  proved  a  decisive  one,  was  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  English — the  great  and 
.arduous  work  was  now  completed — the  few  remaining 
Indians  that  inhabited  the  eastern  country,  now  expres¬ 
sed  a  desire  to  bury  the  bloody  hatchet  and  to  make 
peace  with  the  English — their  request  was  cheerfully 
complied  with,  and  they  continued  ever  alter  the  faithful 
friends  of  the  English. 

From  this  important  period  (which  being  the  5th  day 
of  December,  1679)  ought  the  peace  and  prosperity  of 
the  now  flourishing  States  of  New- England  to  receive- 
their  date.— Ir  was  at  this  period  that  her  hardy  sons  quit 
the  sanguine  field,  and  exchanged  their  implements  of 
death  tor  such  as  were  better  calculated  for  the  cultiva- 
iion  and  tillage  of  their  farms.— The  forests  with  which 


theyWeve  encompassed,  no  longer  abounded  with  fierce 
and  untutored  savages — the  Indian  death-song  and  war- 
whoop,  was  no  longer  heard — the  greater  part  of  the 
Indians  that  survived  the  many  bloody  engagements,  had 
sought  peace  and  retirement  far  westward— the  prison¬ 
ers  which  the  English  bad  captured  were  liberated  upon 
condition  of  resorting  to  and  remaining  with  them — they 
proved  faithful  to  their  promise,  they  took  possession  of 
the  country  bounding  on  the  great  lakes,  and  in  posses¬ 
sion  of  which  their  descendants  remain  to  the  present 
day — a  description  of  whose  manners  and  customs  will  be 
found  in  the  proceeding  chapter. 

We  shall  close  this  with  a  few  remarks  relative  to  the 
state,  customs  and  ludicrous  opinions  of  the  Indians ,  in 
New-England ,  when  first  visited  by  our  Forefathers,  and 
of  their  rapid  depopulation  since  that  period. 

We  cannot  even  hazard  a  conjecture  respecting  the 
Indian  population  of  Uew- England,  at  the  time  of  its  first 
settlement  by  the  English.  Capt.  Smith,  in  a  voyage 
to  this  coast  in  1614,  supposed  that  on  the  Massachusetts 
island,  there  were  about  3000  Indians— all  accounts 
agree  that  the  sea  coast  and  neighboring  islands  were 
thickly  inhabited. 

Three  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Plymouth  colo¬ 
ny,  a  very  mortal  sickness,  supposed  to  have  been  the 
plague,  or  perhaps  the  yellow«fever,  raged  with  great 
violence  among  the  Indians  in  the  eastern  parts  of  New- 
England.  Whole  towns  were  depopulated.  The  living 
were  not  able  to  bury  the  dead  :  and  their  bones  were 
found  lying  above  ground  many  years  after.  The  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  Indians  are  said  to  have  been  reduced  from 
S0,000  to  300  fighting  men.  In  163S,  the  small* pox  swept 
off  great  numbers  of  the  Indians  in  Massachusetts. 

In  1763,  on  the  island  of  Nantucket,  in  the  space  of 
four  months,  the  Indians  were  reduced  by  a  mortal  sick- 


79 


ness,  from  320  16  85  souls.  The  hand  of  ProvidSce  is 
notable  in  these  surprising  instances  of  mortality  among 
the  Indians  to  make  room  for  the  whites.  Comparative¬ 
ly  few  have  perished  by  wars  ;  and  the  descendants  of 
the  few  that  were  not  driven  to  the  westward  by  the 
English,  waste  and  moulder  away  and  in  a  manner  un¬ 
accountable  disappear. 

The  number  of  Indians  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  in  , 
1774  was  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-three; 
but  their  number  is  now  doubtless  much  lessened.  The 
principal  part  of  their  population  in  this  state  is  at  Mohe- 
gan,  in  the  county  of  New- London-— these  are  the  de¬ 
scendants  of  the  Mohegans,  of  whom  frequent  mention 
h  made  in  the  foregoing  pages  as  being  very  serviceable 
(under  the  command  of  Uncus)  to  the  English,  in  their 
many  engagements  with  the  natives.-— The  Mohegans 
have  ever  exhibited  great  reverence  for  the  descendants 
of  their  royal  Sachem,— After  the  death  of  Uncus,  his 
body  was  conveyed  (by  his  request)  to  Norwich,  and  there 
interred  in  the  neighbourhood  of  one  of  his  forts — this 
spot  was  selected  by  him,  previous  to  his  death,  and  it 
was  his  dying  request  that  the  whole  family  of  Uncus 
should  be  there  buried  ;  a  request  which  has  been  strict¬ 
ly  comply  ed  with  by  the  Mohegans;  who,  although  the 
distance  is  seven  miles  from  their  own  burying  ground, 
have  and  continue  to  deposit  there  the  descendants  of 
their  revered  Sachem. 

The  number  of  Indians  in  Rhode  Island  in  1783,  was 
only  five  hundred  and  twenty-five.  More  than  half  of 
these  live  in  Charleston,  in  the  county  of  Washington.— . 

In  1774,  the  number  of  Indians  in  Rhode-Island  was  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-two  so  that  in  nine 
years  the  decrease  was  nine  hundred  and  fifty-seven.— 
We  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  exact  state  of  the 
Indian  population  in  Massachusetts  and  New-Hampshire* 


In  lUfi  there  was  a  tribe  of  about  forty  Indians  at  Nor- 
ridge  walk,  in  the  Province  of  Maine,  with  some  few  oth¬ 
er  scattering  remains  of  tribes  in  other  parts;  and  a 
number  of  towns  thinly  inhabited  round  Cape  Cod. 

When  the  English  first  arrived  in  America,  the  Indians 
had  no  time  nor  places  set  apart  for  religious  worship. — 
The  first  settlers  in  Nevo- England  were  at  great  pains  to 
introduce  among  them  the  habits  of  civilized  life,  and  to 
instruct  them  in  the  Christian  religion.  A  few  years  in¬ 
tercourse  with  the  Indians  induced  them  to  establish  sev¬ 
eral  good  and  natural  regulations. 

The  Rev*  Mr.  Elliot,  of  Roxbury,  near  Boston,  who 
has  been  styled  the  great  Indian  apostle ,  with  much  la¬ 
bour  learned  the  Natic  dialect  of  the  Indian  languages. 
He  published  an  Indian  grammar,  and  preached  in  In¬ 
dian  to  several  tribes,  and  in  1664.  transited  the  bible 
and  several  religious  books  into  the  Indian  language; 
He  relates  several  pertinent  queries  of  the  Indians  re¬ 
specting  the  Christian  religion.  Among  others,  wheth¬ 
er  Jesus  Christ,  the  mediator  or  interpreter,  could  un¬ 
derstand  prayer  in  the  Indian  language  ?  If  the  father 
be  bad  and  the  child  good,  why  should  Grd  in  the  second 
commandment  be  offended  with  the  child  ?  How  the  In¬ 
dians  came  to  differ  so  much  from  the  English  in  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  since  they  ail  sprang 
from  one  father  ? — Mr.  Elliot  was  indefatigable  in  his 
labours,  and  travelled  through  all  parts  of  Massachusetts 
and  Plymouth  colonies,  as  far  as  Cape  Cod.  The  colo¬ 
ny  had  such  a  veneration  for  him,  that  in  an  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  relating  to  Indians,  they  express 
themselves  thus,  “  By  the  advice  of  the  said  magistrates, 
and  of  Mr,  Elliot.'* 

Concerning  the  religion  of  the  untaught  natives  of 
New- England,  who  once  held  a  plurality  of  deities,  af¬ 
ter  the  arrival  of  the  English,  supposed  there  were  only 


three,  because  they  saw  people  of  three  kinds  or  com*’ 
plexions,  viz. — -English,  Negroes,  and  themselves. 

It  was  a  notion  pretty  generally  prevailing  among  them, 
that  it  was  not  the  same  God  made  them  who  made  us  | 
but  that  they  were  created  after  the  white  people  ;  and  it 
is  probable  they  supposed  their  God  gained  some  special 
Skill,  by  seeing  the  white  people  made,  and  so  made  them 
better  ;  for  it  is  certain  they  looked  upon  themselves* 
and  their  methods  of  living,  which  they  say  their  God 
expressly  prescribed  for  them,  vastly  preferable  to  the 
white  people  and  their  ihethods- 

With  regard  to  a  future  state  of  existence,  many  of 
them  imagined  that  the  chic  hung,  i.  e .  the  shadow,  or 
what  survived  the  body,  would  at  death  go  southward,  and 
in  an  unknown  but  Curious  place— would  enjoy  some 
kind  of  happiness,  such  as  hunting,  feasting,  dancing,  and 
the  like.  And  what  they  supposed  would  contribute 
much  to  their  happiness,  was,  that  they  should  there 
never  be  weary  of*  those  entertainments. 

The  natives  of  New-England  believed  not  only  at  plu¬ 
rality  of  Gods,  who  made  and  governed  the  several  na¬ 
tions  of  the  world  $  but  they  made  deities  of  every  thing 
they  imagined  to  be  great,  powerful,  beneficial,  and  hurt¬ 
ful  to  mankind  ;  yet  they  conceived  an  Almighty  Being, 
whom  they  called  Kichtau,  who  at  first,  according  to 
their  tradition,  made  a  man  and  woman  out  of  stone,  but 
upon  some  dislike  destroyed  them  again,  and  then  made 
another  couple  out  of  a  tree,  from  whom  descended  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  $  but  how  they  came  to  be  scat¬ 
tered  and  dispersed  into  countries  so  remote  from  one 
another  they  could  not  tell.  They  believed  their  Supreme 
God  to  be  a  good  being,  and  paid  a  sort  of  acknowledg¬ 
ment  to  him  for  plenty,  victoiy  and  other  benefits. 

1  he  immortality  of  the  soul  was  universally  believed 
sraong  them,  When  good  men  died,  they  said,  thei? 


— $2 


*ou i*r  went  to  Kichtau,  where  they  met  with  theft* 
trends,  and  enjoyed  all  manner  of  pleasures  ;  when  the 
wicked  died,  they  went  to  Kichtau  also,  b tit  were  com* 
manded  to  walk  away  ;  and  so  wander  about  in  restless 
discontent  and  darkness  forever. 

The  natives  of  New-England  in  general  were  quick  of 
apprehension,  ingenious,  and  when  pleased  nothing  could 
exceed  their  courtesy  and  friendship—- gravity  and  elo¬ 
quence  distinguished  them  in  council,  address  and  bravery 
in  war  they  were  not  more  easily  provoked  than  the 
English,  but  when  once  they  had  received  an  injury,  it 
was  never  forgotton— in  anger,  they  were  not  like  the 
English,  talkative  and  boisterous,  but  sullen  and  revenge¬ 
ful.  The  men  declined  all  labour  and  spent  their  time 
in  hunting,  fishing,  shooting,  and  warlike  exercises. 
Tkhey  imposed  all  the  drudgery  upon  their  women,  who 
gathered  and  brought  home  their  wood,  planted,  dressed 
and  gathered  their  corn — when  they  travelled  the  women 
carried  their  children,  packs  and  provisions — the  women 
submitted  patiently  to  such  treatment,  this  ungenerous 
usuage  of  their  husbands,  they  repaid  with  smiles  and 
good  humour. 

The  eloathing  of  the  natives  was  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts,  the  men  threw  a  mantle  of  skins  over  them,  and 
wore  a  small  flap  which  were  termed  Indian  breeches— 
the  women  were  much  more  modest,  they  wore  a  coat 
of  skins,  girt  about  their  loins  which  reached  down  tb 
their  hams,  which  they  never  put  off*  in  company — if  the 
husband  chose  to  dispose  of  his  wife’s  beaver  petticoat, 
she  could  not  be  persuaded  to  part  with  it,  until  he  had 
provided  another  of  some  sort.  In  the  winter,  their 
blanket  of  skins  which  hung  loose  in  summer,  was  tied 
or  wrapped  more  closely  about  them — the  old  men  in  the 
severe  seasons  also  wore  a  sort  of  trowsers  made  of  skins 
and  fastened  to  their  girdles,  and  on  their  feet  they  wore 


mocasobs,  made  of  moose  leather,  and  their  chiefs  of 
sachems  wore  on  their  heads  a  cap  decorated  with  feath¬ 
ers. 

Their  bouses  or  wtgwarnas  were  at  best  but  miserable 
ceils  ;  they  were  constructed  generally  like  arbours,  of 
small  young  trees  bent  and  twisted  together,  and  so  cu¬ 
riously  covered  with  mats  or  bark,  that  they  were  toler¬ 
ably  dry  and  warm— the  natives  made  their  fires  in  the 
centre  of  the,  house,  and  there  was  an  opening  at  the 
top  which  emitted  the  smoke  for  the  convenience  of 
wood  and  water,  these  huts  were  commonly  erected  in 
groves,  near  some  river,  brook  or  living  spring ;  when 
either  failed  the  family  removed  to  another  place. 

They  lived  in  a  poor  low  manner,  their  food  was  coarse 
and  simple,  without  any  kind  of  seasoning — they  had 
neither  spice,  salt  or  bread — their  food  was  principally 
the  entrails  of  moose,  deer,  bears,  and  all  kinds  of  wild 
beasts  and  fowls;  of  fish  and  snakes  they  were  extreme-. 
Jy  fond — they  had  strong  stomachs  and  nothing  came  a- 
miss  ! — they  had  no  set  meals,  but  like  other  wild  crea¬ 
tures  ate  when  they  were  hungry,  and  could  find  any 
thing  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature— they  had  but  lit¬ 
tle  food  from  the  earth  except  what  it  spontaneously  pro¬ 
duced— Indian  corn,  beans  and  squashes,  were  the  only 
eatables  for  which  the  natives  of  New-England  laboured. 

Their  household  furniture  was  of  but  small  value— 

—  j  t  i  ■  ,  .  .  *  -•  - 

their  beds  were  composed  of  mats  or  skins;  they  had 
neither  chairs  or  stools,  but  commonly  sat  upon  the 
ground  with  their  elbows  upon  their  knees— a  few  wood¬ 
en  and  stone  vessels  and  instruments  served  all  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  domestic  life— their  knife  was  a  sharp  stone, 
shell  or  kind  of  reed,  which  they  sharpened  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  cut  their  hair,  make  their  bows  and  ar¬ 
rows,  &c — they  made  their  axes  of  stone,  which  they 
shaped  somewhat  similar  to  our  axes,  but  with  the  dii- 


|ference  of  their  being  made  with  a  neck  instead  of  as? 
eye,  and  fastened  with  a  withe,  like  a  blacksmith's  chis- 
sel. 

V  -  ;  • 

The  manner  of  the  courtship  and  marriage  of  the  na- 
lives  manifested  the  impurity  of  their  morals,— When  a 
young  Indian  wished  for  marriage,  he  presented .  the 
girl  with  whom  he  was  enamoured,  with  bracelets,  belts 
and  chains  of  wampum— if  she  received  his  presents 
they  cohabited  together  for  a  time  upon  trial — if  they 
pleased  each  other  they  were  joined  in  marriage  :  but  if 
after  a  few  weeks,  they  were  not  suited,  the  man,  leav¬ 
ing  his  presents,  quitted  the  girl  and  sought  another  mis¬ 
tress,  and  she  another  lover — in  this  manner  they  court¬ 
ed  until  two  met  who  were  agreeable  to  each  other. 

The  natives  of  New-England,  although  they  consisted 
of  a  great  number  of  different  nations  and  clans,  appear 
to  have  spoken  radically  the  same  language— from  Pis- 
cataqua  to  Connecticut,  it  was  so  nearly  the  same,  tha£ 
the  different  tribes  could  converse  tolerably  together— 
the  Mohegan  or  Pequot  language  was  essentially  that  of 
all  the  Indians  in  New-England— the  word  Mohegan,  is 
a  corruption  of  Muhhekaneew,  in  the  6’mgular,  or  of 
Muhhekaneek  in  the  plural  number. — The  Penobscots, 
bordering  on  Nova-Scotia,  the  Indians  of  St.  Francis,  in 
Canada,  the  Delawares,  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Shawanese, 
on  the  Ohio,  and  the  Chippewaus,  at  the  westward  of 
lake  Huron,  all  now  speak  the  same  radical  language. 

CHAP.  IV. 

pF  THE  DIFFERENT  TRIBES  OF  INDIANS  IN¬ 
HABITING  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


WE  shall  now  speak  of  the  Indians  who  occupy  the 


interior  of  America.— They  are  the  descendants  of  those 
who  once  inhabited  the  sea-coasts,  and  who  were  driven 
by  the  English  (as  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter) 
far  to  the  westward,  so  that  but  few  of  their  descendants 
pre  now  to  be  found  within  less  than  two  or  three  hun¬ 
dred  miles  of  the  sea  :  for  though  many  of  them  have 
been  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  Christianity,  and  dis¬ 
tricts  of  land  have  been  allotted  them  in  several  of  the 
British  colonies,  where  they  have  been  fqrmed  into  so¬ 
cieties;  yet  it  has  been  found  that  in  proportion  as  they 
Jay  by  their  ancient  customs,  and  conform  to  the  manners 
of  civilized  life,  they  dwindle  away,  either  because  the 
change  is  prejudicial  to  their  constitutions,  or  because 
when  settled  among  the  English  they  have  great  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  procuring  spirituous  liquors,  of  which  both 
sexes  are  in  general  inordinately  fond  ;  very  little  care 
being  ever  taken  to  prevent  those  who  are  inclined  to  take 
•advantage  of  them  in  trade,  from  basely  intoxicating  them, 
for  that  purpose  s  this  has  a  powerful  effect  on  their  con¬ 
stitutions,  and  soon  proves  fatal,  producing  diseases  to 
which  they  were  formerly  strangers.  Thus  where  a  few 
years  ago  there  were  considerable  settlements  of  them, 
their  name  is  almost  forgotten  ;  and  those  who  still  re¬ 
main,  have  for  the  most  part,  joined  themselves  to  other 
nations  in  the  interior  part  of  the  country,  on  the  banks 
of  the  lakes  and  rivers. 

The  Indians  in  Canada,  and  to  the  south  of  it,  are  tall 
and  straight  beyond  the  proportion  of  most  other  nations; 
their  bodies  are  strong,  but  it  has  been  observed  that  this 
is  a  strength  rather  suited  to  endure  the  exercise  of  the 
chase,  than  much  hard  labour,  by  which  they  are  soon 
consumed ;  they  have  generally  supple  limbs,  and  the 
smallest  degree  of  deformity  is  very  rarely  seen  amongst 
them.  Their  features  are  regular,  their  complexion 
somewhat  of  a  copper  colour,  or  a  reddish  brown  ;  their 


hair,  which  is  long,  black,  and  lank,  is  as  strong  as  that 
of  a  horse.  They  carefully  eradicate  the  hair  from  every 
part  of  the  body  except  the  head,  and  there  they  confine 
it  to  a  tuft  at  the  top  ;  whence  an  erroneous  idea  has 
much  prevailed,  that  the  men  of  this  country  are  natu¬ 
rally  destitute  of  beards  ;  but  it  is  unquestionable  that  it 
is  only  an  artificial  deprivation. 

They  generally  wear  only  a  blanket  wrapped  about 
them,  or  a  shirt,  both  of  which  they  purchase  of  the 
English  traders:  when  the  Europeans  first  came  among 
them  they  found  some  nations  entirely  naked,  and  others 
with  a  coarse  cotton  cloth,  wove  by  themselves,  round 
their  waist  ;  but  in  the  northern  parts  their  whole  bodies 
were  in  winter  covered  with  skins. 

The  Huran  Indians  possess  a  very  pleasant  and  fertile 
country  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  which  bears  the 
same  name.  Half  a  century  ago  they  were  very  nume¬ 
rous,  and  could  raise  six  or  seven  hundred  warriors,  but 
they  have  suffered  greatly  from  the  attacks  of  neighbor¬ 
ing  tribes.  They  differ  in  their  manners  from  any  of  the 
Indian  tribes  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  They  build 
regular  houses  which  they  cover  with  bark,  and  are  con¬ 
sidered  as  the  most  wealthy  Indians  on  the  continent, 
having  not  only  many  horses,  but  some  black  cattle  and 
swine.  They  likewise  raise  much  corn,  so  that  after 
providing  for  their  own  wants,  they  are  enabled  to  barter 
the  remainder  with  other  tribes.  Their  country  extends 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  eastward  of  the  lake,  but  is 
narrower  in  the  contrary  direction  :  the  soil  is  not  exceed¬ 
ed  by  any  in  this  part  of  the  world  :  the  timber  is  tali 
and  beautiful,  the  woods  abound  with  game,  and  abun¬ 
dance  of  fish  may  be  obtained  from  the  rivers  and  lakes ; 
so  that  if  it  was  well  cultivated,  the  land  would  equal  that 
on  any  part  of  the  sea  coast  of  North-America.  A  mis¬ 
sionary  of  the  order  of  Carthusian  friars,  by  permission 


of  the  bishop  of  Canada,  resides  among  them,  and  is  by 
them  amply  rewarded  for  his  services. 

Those  tribes  of  Indians  which  inhabit  the  banks  of 
lakes  Champlain,  George,  and  Ontario,  were  formelv 
called  Iroquois ,  but  have  since  been  known  by  the  name 
of  “  the  five  Mohawk  nations  and  u  the  Mohawks  of 
Canada  the  former  are  called  Onondagoes,  Oniades, 
Senecas,  Tuscaaovies,  and  Troondock  ;  these  fought  on 
the  side  of  the  English  in  the  contest  for  territory  with 
France;  the  Cohnawahgans  and  St.  Francis  Indians 
joined  the  French. 

The  knowledge  which  we  have  of  the  Indians  further 
to  the  S.  W.  as  far  as  beyond  42°  N»  latitude,  is  chiefly 
obtained  from  the  very  worthy  provincial  officer  Major 
Carver,  who  travelled  into  those  parts>  in  the  year  1766, 
and  whose  placid  manners  and  artless  sincerity  could  not 
fail  of  recommending  him  to  men  whom  nature  alone 
had  instructed.  He  visited  twelve  nations  of  Indians,  a- 
mpng  which  the  following  appear  to  be  the  most  consid¬ 
erable  :  the  Chipeway,  who  dwell  to  the  southward  of 
lake  Superior,  and  the  Ottawas  ;  the  Winnebags  to  the 
YV.  of  lake  Michigan,  who  with  the  Saukies,  and  Otti- 
ganmies  occupy  the  whole  extent  of  country  from  the 
lake  to  the  Mississippi,  below  42°  N.  latitude,  where  the 
Ousconsin  river  discharges  itself.  The  Nandowesse,  the 
most  numerous  and  extended  Indian  nation,  inhabit  the 
country  on  the  W .  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  borders  of 
Louisiana. 

The  Indians  in  general  are  strangers  to  the  passion  of 
jealousy  ;  and  the  most  profligate  of  their  young  men 
very  rarely  attempt  the  virtue  of  married  woman,  nor  do 
such  often  put  themselves  in  the  way  of  solicitation,  al¬ 
though  the  Indian  women,  in  general,  are  armorous,  and) 
before  marriage,  not  less  esteemed  lor  gratifying  theip 
passion appears  to  have  been  a  very  prevalent  cus- 


(dm  with  the  Indians  of  this  country,  before  they  frec&Aid 
acquainted  with  the  Europeans,  to  compliment  strangers 
with  their  wives  ;  and  the  custom  still  prevails,  not  onl^ 
among  the  lower  rank,  but,  even  among  the  chiefs  them* 
selves,  who  consider  such  an  offer  as  the  greatest  proof 
of  courtesy  they  can  give  a  stranger. 

The  men  are  remarkable  for  their  indolence,  oh  which' 
they  even  seem  to  value  themselves  ;  saying  that  labour 
would  degrade  them,  and  belongs  solely  to  the  women. 
While  they  are  formed  only  for  war,  hunting  and  fishing  $ 
it  is,  however,  their  business  to  make  arms  for  hunting 
and  lines  for  fishing}  to  form  their  canoes,  and  build 
their  houses ;  but  they  frequently  make  the  women  as¬ 
sist  them  in  these,  besides  attending  to  all  domestic  af¬ 
fairs,  and  cultivating  the  land.  They  have  a  method  of 
lighting  up  their  huts  with  torches,  made  of  the  splin¬ 
ters  cut  from  the  pine  or  birch  tree. 

The  Indians  have  generally  astonishing  patience  and 
equanimity  of  mind,  with  the  command  of  every  passion 
except  revenge.  They  bear  the  most  sudden  and  unex¬ 
pected  misfortune  with  calmness  and  composure,  with¬ 
out  uttering  a  word,  or  the  least  change  of  countenance. 
Even  a  prisoner,  who  knows  not  whether  he  may  not  in 
a  few  hours  be  put  to  the  most  cruel  death,  seems  en¬ 
tirely  unconcerned,  and  eats  and  drinks  with  as  much 
cheerfulness  as  those  into  whose  hands  he  has  fallen. 
Their  resolution  and  courage  under  sickness  and  pain, 
is  really  astonishing.  Even  when  under  the  shocking 
torture  to  which  prisoners  are  frequently  exposed, 
they  will  not  only  make  themselves  cheerful,  but  provoke 
and  irritate  their  tormentors  by  most  severe  reproaches. 

They  are  grave  in  their  deportment  upon  serious  oc¬ 
casions,  observant  of  those  in  company,  respectful  to  the 
old ;  of  a  temper  cool  and  deliberate,  by  which  they  are 
never  in  haste  to  speak  before  they  have  well  thought  of 


89— 


the  matter,  and  sure  that  the  person  who  spoke  before 
them  has  finished  all  that  he  had  to  say.  In  their  pub* 
lie  councils,  every  man  is  heard  in  his  turn,  according 
as  his  years,  his  wisdom,  or  his  services  to  his  country, 
have  ranked  him.  Not  a  whisper,  nor  a  murmer  is 
heard  from  the  rest,  while  he  speaks ;  no  indecent  corn*, 
mendations,  no  ill  timid  applause.  The  young  attend 
for  their  instruction  ;  for  here  they  learn  the  history  of 
their  nation,  are  animated  by  those  who  celebrate  the 
warlike  actions  of  their  ancestors  ;  are  taught  what  is 
the  interest  of  the  country,  and  how  to  cultivate  and  pur¬ 
sue  it. 

Hospitality  is  exercised  among  them  with  the  utmost 
generosity  and  good  will.  Their  houses,  their  provi¬ 
sions  and  even  their  young  women,  are  presented  to  a 
guest.  To  those  of  their  own  nation  they  are  likewise 
very  humane  and  beneficent.  If  any  of  them  succeed 
ill  in  hunting,  if  his  harvest  fails,  or  his  house  is  burnt, 
he  feels  no  other  effect  of  his  misfortune,  than  its  giving 
him  an  opportunity  of  experiencing  the  benevolence  and 
regard  of  his  countrymen,  who,  for  that  purpose,  have 
almost  every  thing  in  common.  But  to  the  enemies  of 
his  country,  or  to  those  who  have  privately  offended  him, 
the  native  American  is  implacable.  He  never  indeed 
makes  use  of  oaths,  or  indecent  expressions,  but  cruelly 
conceals  his  sentiments,  till  by  treachery  or  surprise  he 
can  gratify  his  revenge.  No  length  of  time  is  sufficient 
to  allay  his  resentment ;  no  distance  of  place  is  great 
enough  to  protect  the  object  ;  he  crosses  the  steepest 
mountains,  pierces  impervious  forests,  and  traverses  tbs 
most  hideous  deserts  ;  bearing  the  inclemency  of  the 
seasons,  the  fatigue  of  the  expedition,  the  extremes  of 
hungar  and  thirst,  with  patience  and  cheerfulness,  in 
hopes  of  surprising  his  enemy,  and  exercising  uron  him 

the  most  shocking  barbarities.  When  these  cannot  be 

M 


effected,  the  revenge  is  left  as  a  legacy,  transferred  frbfft 
generation  to  generation  from  father  to  son,  till  an  op¬ 
portunity  offers  of  taking  what  they  think  ample  satis¬ 
faction.  To  such  extremes  do  the  Indians  pissh  their 
friendship,  or  their  enmity  ;  and  such  indeed  is,  in  gene- 
ral,  the  character  of  all  uncivilized  nations.  They,  how¬ 
ever,  esteem  nothing  so  unworthy  a  man  of  sense,  as  a 
peevish  temper,  and  a  proneness  to  a  sudden  and  rash 
anger. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  are  highly  sensible  of  the 
Utility  and  pleasures  of  friendship  :  for  each  of  them,  at  a 
certain  age,  makes  choice  of  some  one  nearly  of  the  same 
standing  in  life  to  be  their  most  intimate  and*  bosom 
friend  j  these  two  enter  into  mutual  engagements,  by 
Which  they  oblige  themselves  to  brave  any  danger  and  run 
any  risque,  to  assist  and  support  each  other.  This  attach¬ 
ment  is  even  carried  so  far  as  to  overcome  the  fear  of 
death,  which  they  consider  only  as  a  temporary  separa¬ 
tion,  being  persuaded  that  they  shall  meet  and  be  united 
in  friendship  in  the  other  world,  never  to  be  separated 
more  ;  and  that  there  they  shall  need  one  another’s  assis¬ 
tance  as  well  as  here* 

It  does  not  appear  that  there  is  any  Indian  nation  that 
has  not  some  sense  of  a  deity,  and  a  kind  of  superstitious 
religion.  Their  ideas  of  the  nature  and  attributes  of 
God  are  very  obscure,  and  some  of  them  absurd,  though 
they  conceive  of  him  as  the  Great  Spirit,  and  imagine 
that  his  more  Immediate  residence  is  on  the  island  of  the 
great  lakes.  They  seem  to  have  some  idea  that  there 
are  spirits  of  a  higher  and  more  excellent  nature  than 
man  f  and  supposing  them  to  be  every  where  present, 
frequently  invoke  them,  and  endeavor  to  act  agreeable  to 
their  desires.  They  likewise  imagine  that  there  is  an 
evil  spirit,  who  they  say  is  always  inclined  to  mischief, 
and  bears  great  sway  in  the  creation  j  this  indeed  is  the 


— *91— 


principal  object  of  their  devotions  ;  they  generally  ad¬ 
dress  him  most  heartily,  beseeching  him  to  do  them  no 
harm  :  but  supposing  the  others  to  be  propitious,  and 
ever  inclined  to  do  good;  they  intreat  those  spirits  to 
bestow  blessings  upon  them  and  prevent  the  evil  spirit 
from  hurting  them.  Major  Carver  relates  that  one  of 
the  most  considerable  chiefs  among  the  Otlawaws  with 
whom  he  remained  a  night,  on  attending  him  to  his  canoe 
the  next  morning,  with  great  solemnity,  and  in  an  auda* 
ble  voice  offered  up  a  fervent  prayer,  as  he  entered  his 
canoe,  “  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  favor  him  with  a 
prosperous  voyage  ;  that  he  would  give  him  an  uncloud¬ 
ed  sky,  and  smooth  waters  by  day,  and  that  he  might 
lie  down  by  night  on  a  beaver  blanket,  enjoying  uninter¬ 
rupted  sleep  and  pleasant  dreams  ;  and  also  that  he 
might  find  continual  security  under  the  great  pipe  of 
peace.”  To  procure  the  protection  of  the  good  spirit, 
they  imagine  it  necessary  to  distinguish  themselves,  and 
that  they  must  above  all  other  attainments,  become  good 
warriors,  expert  hunters,  and  steady  marksmen. 

Their  priests  often  persuade  the  people  that  they  have 
revelations  of  future  events,  and  are  authorized  to  com¬ 
mand  them  to  pursue  such  and  such  measures.  They 
also  undertake  to  unfold  the  mysteries  of  religion,  and  to 
solve  and  interpret  all  their  dreams.  They  represent  the 
other  world  as  a  place  abounding  with  an  inexhaustible 
plenty  of  every  thing  desirable,  where  they  shall  enjoy 
the  most  full  and  exquisite  gratification  of  all  their  senses. 
—This  is  doubtless  the  motive  that  induces  the  Indians 
to  meet  death  with  such  indifference  and  composure  $ 
none  of  them  being  in  the  least  dismayed  at  the  news 
that  he  has  but  a  few  hours  or  minutes  to  live,  but  with 
the  greatest  intrepidity  sees  himself  upon  the  brink  of 
being  separated  from  all  terrestrial  things,  and  with 
great  serenity  talks  to  all  around  him  ;  thus  a  father 


leaves  his  dying  advice  to  his  children,  and  takes  a  for¬ 
mal  leave  of  all  his  friends. 

f 

They  testify  great  indifference  for  the  productions  of 
art ;  when  any  curious  piece  of  mechanism  is  shown  them, 
they  say,  “  It  is  pretty,  I  like  to  look  at  it,"  but  express 
no  curiosity  about  its  construction.  Such  however  is  not 
their  behaviout  when  they  are  told  of  a  person  who  dis¬ 
tinguishes  himself  by  agility  in  running;  is  well  skilled 
in  hunting  ;  can  take  a  most  exact  aim  ;  work  a  canoe 
along  a  rapid  with  great  dexterity  ;  is  skilled  in  all  the 
arts  which  their  stealthy  mode  of  carrying  on  a  war  is 
capable  of ;  or  is  acute  in  discovering  the  situation  of  a 
country,  and  can,  without  a  guide  pursue  his  proper 
course  through  a  vast  forest,  and  support  hunger,  thirst, 
and  fatigue  with  invincible  firmness  ;  at  such  a  relation 
their  attention  is  aroused  ;  they  listen  to  the  interesting 
tale  with  delight,  and  express  in  the  strongest  terms 
their  esteem  for  so  great  so  wonderful  a  man. 

They  generally  bury  their  dead  with  great  decency, 
and  deposit  in  the  grave  such  articles  as  the  deceased  had 
made  the  greatest  use  of  and  been  most  attached  to  ;  as 
his  bow  and  arrow's,  pipes,  tobacco,  &c.  that  he  may  not 
be  in  want  of  any  thing  when  he  comes  to  the  other 
country.  The  mothers  mourn  for  their  children  a  long 
time,  and  the  neighbours  make  presents  to  the  father  ; 
and  he  in  return  gives  them  a  feast. 

Every  band  has  a  leader  who  bears  the  title  of  Sachem 
or  chief  warrior,  and  is  chosen  for  his  tried  valor  and  skill 
in  conducting  war  ;  to  him  is  entrusted  ail  military  ope¬ 
ration,  but  his  authority  does  not  extend  to  civil  affairs, 
the  pre  eminence  there  being  given  to  another,  who  pos¬ 
sesses  it  by  a  kind  of  hereditary  claim,  and  whose  assent 
is  necessary  to  render  valid  all  conveyances  of  land,  or 
treaties  of  whatever  kind,  to  which  he  affixes  the  maijt 
of  the  tribe  or  nation.  Though  these  military  ancj  civil 


chiefs  are  considered  as  the  heads  of  the  band,  and  the 
latter  is  usually  styled  king,  yet  the  American  Indians 
consider  themselves  as  controlled  by  neither  civil  or  mil¬ 
itary  authority  :  every  individual  regards  himself  as  free 
and  independent,  and  would  never  renounce  the  idea  of 
liberty  ;  therefore  injunctions  conveyed  in  the  style  of  a 
positive  command,  would  be  disregarded  and  treated  with 
contempt.  Nor  do  their  leaders  assume  an  ascendancy 
repugnant  to  these  sentiments,  but  merely  advise  what  is 
necessary  to  be  done,  which  is  sufficient  to  produce  the 
most  prompt  and  effectual  execution,  never  producing 
a  murmur. 

Their  great  council  is  composed  of  the  heads  pf  tribes 
and  families,  with  such  whose  capacity  has  raised  them 
to  the  same  degree  of  consideration.  They  meet  in  a 
house,  built  in  each  of  their  towns  for  that  purpose,  and 
also  to  receive  ambassadors,  to  deliver  them  an  answer,  to 
sing  their  traditionary  songs,  or  to  commemorate  the 
dead.  In  these  councils  they  propose  all  such  matters  as 
concern  the  state,  and  which  have  been  already  digested 
in  the  secret  councils,  at  which  none  but  the  head  men 
assist.  The  chiefs  seldom  speak  much  themselves  at 
these  general  meetings,  but  entrust  their  sentiments 
with  a  person  who  is  called  their  speaker,  or  orator,  their 
being  one  of  this  profession  in  every  tribe  or  town  ;  and 
their  manner  of  speaking  is  natural  and  easy,  their  words 
Strong  and  expressive,  their  style  bold,  figurative,  and 
laconic,  whatever  is  told  tending  either  to  form  the 
judgment  or  rouse  the  passions. 

When  any  business  of  consequence  is  transacted,  they 
appoint  a  feast  upon  the  occasion,  of  which  almost  the 
£  whole  nation  partakes.  Before  the  entertainment  is  rea¬ 
dy,  the  principal  person  begins  a  song  on  the  remark¬ 
able  events  of  their  history,  and  whatever  may  tend  to 
their  honour  or  instruction.  The  others  sing  in  their 


94- 


turn.  They  also  have  dances,  chiefly  of  a  martial  kind  5 
and  no  solemnly  or  public  business  is  carried  on  without 
songs  and  dances. 

As  the  Indians  are  high  spirited  and  soon  irritated,  the 
most  trifling  provocations  frequently  rouse  them  to  arms, 
and  prove  the  occasions  of  bloodshed  and  murder. — *Their 
petty  private  quarrels  are  often  decided  this  way,  and  ex¬ 
peditions  undertaken  without  the  knowledge  or  consent 
of  a  general  council.  These  private  expeditions  are 
winked  at,  and  excused,  as  a  means  of  keeping  their 
young  men  in  action,  and  inuring  them  to  the  exercises 
of  war.  * 

But  when  war  becomes  a  national  affair,  it  is  entered 
upon  with  great  deliberation.  They  first  call  an  assem¬ 
bly  of  the  sachems  or  chief  warriors,  to  deliberate  upon 
the  affair,  and  every  thing  relating  to  it.  In  this  general 
congress  among  the  northern  Indians  and  the  Five  Na¬ 
tions,  the  women  have  a  voice  as  well  as  the  men.  When 
they  are  assembled,  the  chief  sachem  or  president,  pro¬ 
poses  the  affair  they  have  met  to  consult  upon,  and  tak¬ 
ing  up  the  tomahawk,  which  lies  by  him,  says  “  Who 
among  you  will  go  and  fight  against  such  a  nation  f 
Who  among  you  will  bring  captives  from  thence  to  re¬ 
place  our  deceased  iriends,  that  our  wrongs  may  be 
revenged,  and  out  name  and  our  honour  maintained,  as 
long  as  the  rivers  flow,  the  grass  grows,  or  the  sun  and 
moon  shall  endure  ?”  Then  one  of  the  principal  warri¬ 
ors  rising,  harrangues  the  whole  assembly,  and  after¬ 
ward,  addressing  himself  to  the  young  men,  enquiries 
who  among  them  will  go  along  with  him,  and  fight  their 
enemies  ?  When  they  generally  rise,  one  after  another, 
and  fall  in  behind  him,  while  he  walks  round  the  circle, 
till  he  is  joined  by  a  sufficient  number. 

On  such  occasions  they  have  usually  a  deer,  or  some 
other  beast  roasted  whole  ;  and  each  of  them,  as  they 


— 95 


t 

consent  to  go  to  war,  cuts  off  a  piece  and  eats,  saying, 
l<  Tims  will  I  devour  our  enemies,”  mentioning  the  na¬ 
tion  they  are  going  to  attack.  The  ceremony  being  per¬ 
formed,  the  dance  begins,  .  and  they  sing  the  war  song, 
which  has  relation  to  their  intended  expedition  and  con¬ 
quest,  or  to  their  own  skill,  courage,  and  dexterity  in 
fighting,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  will  vanquish 
their  enemies.  There  expressions  are  strong  and  pathet¬ 
ic,  attended  with  a  tone  that  inspires  terror. 

**Such  is  the  influence  of  their  women  in  these  consul¬ 
tations,  that  the  issue  depends  much  upon  them.  It  any 
one  of  theft*  in  conjunction  with  the  chiefs,  has  a  mind 
to  excite  one,  who  does  not  immediately  depend  upon 
them,  to  take  a  part  in  the  war,  she  presents,  by  the 
hands  of  some  trusty  young  warrior,  a  string  of  wam¬ 
pum,  to  the  person  whose  help  she  solicits,  which  sel¬ 
dom  fails  of  producing  the  effect.  But  when  they  soli¬ 
cit  an  offensive  or  defensive  alliance  with  a  whole  nation, 
they  send  an  embassy  with  a  large  belt  of  wampum  and 
a  bloody  hatchet,  enviting  them  to  come  and  drink  the 
blood  of  their  enemies. 

The  wampum  used  on  these  and  other  occasions  be¬ 
fore  their  acquaintance  with  Europeans,  was  only  small 
shells,  which  they  picked  up  by  the  sea  coasts,  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  lakes.  It  now  consists  principally  of 
a  kind  of  cylindrical  beads,  made  of  white  and  black 
shells,  which  are  esteemed  among  them  as  silver  and 
gold  are  among  us.  The  black  they  think  the  most  val¬ 
uable  ;  both  of  them  are  their  greatest  riches  and  orna¬ 
ments,  answering  all  the  ends  of  money  among  us.— 
They  have  the  art  of  stringing,  twisting,  and  interweav¬ 
ing  them  into  their  belts,  collars,  blankets,  2kc.  in  ten. 
thousand  different  sizes,  forms,  and  figures,  so  as  not 
only  to  be  ornaments  for  every  part  of  dress,  but  ex¬ 
pressive  of  all  their  important  transactions.  They  die 


%• 


the  wampum  of  various  colours  and  shades  ;  and  as  they 
are  made  significant  of  almost  any  thing  they  please,  by 
these  their  records  are  kept,  and  their  thoughts  commu¬ 
nicated  to  one  another,  as  ours  are  by  writing.  Thus 
the  belts  that  pass  from  one  nation  to  another,  in  all  im¬ 
portant  transactions,  are  carefully  preserved  in  the  cabin 
of  their  chiefs,  and  serve  both  as  a  kind  of  record  or  his¬ 
tory,  and  as  a  public  treasure ;  hence  they  are  never 
used  on  trifling  occasions. 

The  calmut,  or  pipe  of  peace,  is  of  no  less  impor¬ 
tance,  nor  is  it  less  revered  among  them.  The  bowl  of 
this  pipe  is  made  of  a  kind  of  soft  red  stone,  easily 
wrought  and  hollowed  out ;  the  stem  is  of  cane,  or  a 
kind  of  light  wood,  painted  with  different  colours,  and 
adorned  with  the  heads,  tails,  and  feathers,  of  the  most 
beautiful  birds,  &c.  The  use  of  the  calmut,  is  to  smoke 
either  tobacco  or  some  ether  herb  used  instead  of  it, 
when  they  enter  into  an  alliance  or  any  solemn  engage¬ 
ment  ;  this  being  esteemed  the  most  sacred  oath  that 
can  be  taken,  the  violation  of  which  is  thought  to  be 
most  infamous,  and  deserving  severe  punishment  in  the 
other  life.  When  they  treat  of  war,  the  whole  pipe  and 
all  its  ornaments  are  red  ;  sometimes  it  is  red  only  on 
one  side,  and  by  the  disposition  of  the  feathers  &c.  a 
person  acquainted  with  their  customs,  knows  at  first  sight 
the  intentions  or  desires  of  the  nation  who  presents  it. 
Smoaking  the  calmut  is  also  upon  some  occasions  and  in 
all  treaties  considered  as  a  sacred  oath,  as  a  seal  of  their 
decrees,  and  a  pledge  of  their  performance  of  them. 
The  size  and  decorations  of  their  caimuts  are  common¬ 
ly  proportioned  to  the  importance  of  the  occasion,  to  the 
quality  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  are  presented,  and 
to  the  esteem  and  regard  they  have  for  them. 

Another  instrument  of  great  importance  among  them 
is  the  tomahawk.  This  is  an  ancient  weapon,  used  by 


—97— 


them  in  war,  before  they  were  taught  the  use  of  iron 
or  steel,  since  which  hatchets  have  been  substituted  in 
the  room  of  them,  but  still  it  retains  its  use  and  im¬ 
portance  in  public  transactions  :  and  like  the  pipe,  is  fre¬ 
quently  very  significant.  This  instrument  is  formed  in 
some  respects  like  a  hatchet,  having  a  long  handle  ;  the 
head,  which  is  a  round  knob  of  solid  Wood  calculated  to 
knock  a  man  down,  has  on  the  other  side  a  point,  bend¬ 
ing  a  little  toward  the  handle ;  and  near  the  centre 
where  the  handle  pierces  the  head  another  point  projects 
forward,  of  a  considerable  length,  which  serves  to  thrust 
with  like  a  spear.  The  tomahawk  is  also  ornamented 
with  painting  and  feathers,  disposed  and  variegated  in 
many  significant  forms  according  to  the  occasion  and  end 
for  which  they  are  used  ;  and  on  it  is  kept  a  kind  of 
journal  of  their  marches  and  most  important  occurren¬ 
ces,  in  a  sort  of  hieroglyphics.  When  the  council  is 
called  to  deliberate  on  war,  the  tomahawk  is  colored  red  ; 
and  when  the  council  sits  it  ia  laid  clown  by  the  chief, 
and  if  war  be  concluded  upon,  the  captain  of  the  young 
warriors  takes  it  up,  and  holding  it  in  his  hand,  dances 
and  sings  the  war-song.  When  the  council  is  over,  this 
or  some  other  of  the  same  kind,  is  sent  by  the  hands  of 
the  same  warrior  to  every  tribe  concerned  ;  who  with  it 
presents  a  belt  of  wampum,  and  delivers  his  message, 
throwing  the  tomahawk  on  the  ground,  which  is  taken 
up  by  one  of  the  most  expert  warriors,  if  they  choose 
to  join  ;  if  not,  -it  is  returned  with  a  belt  of  their  wam¬ 
pum  suited  to  the  occasion. 

Each  nation  or  tribe  has  its  distinct  ensigns,  generally 
consisting  of  some  beast,  bird,  or  fish.  Thus  the  Five 
Nations  have  the  bear,  otter,  wolfe,  tortoise,  and  eagle  ; 
by  these  names  the  tribes  are  generally  distinguished, 
and  the  shapes  of  these  animals  are  pricked  and  painted 

on  several  parts  of  their  bodies.  Generally,  when  they 

N 


march  through  the  woods,  they  at  every  encampment* 
cut  the  figure  o£  their  arms  on  the  trees,  especially  when 
they  have  had  a  successful  campaign,  that  travellers  may 
know  that  they  have  been  there  ;  recording  also  in  their* 
way  the  number  of  prisoners  and  scalps  they  have  taken. 

Their  military  appearance  is  very  odd  and  terrible.— 
They  cut  off  all  their  hair,  except  a  spot  on  the  crown 
of  their  head,  and  pluck  out  their  eye*brows,  The  lock 
left  upon  the  head  is  divided  into  several  parcels,  each  of 
which  is  stiffened,  and  intermixed  with  beads  and  feath¬ 
ers  of  various  shapes  and  colours,  the  whole  twisted  and 
connected  together.  They  paint  themselves  with  a  red 
pigment  down  to  the  eyebrows,  which  they  sprinkle  over 
with  white  down.  The  gristle  of  their  ears  are  slit  al¬ 
most  quite  round,  and  hung  with  ornaments  that  have 
generally  the  figure  of  some  bird  or  beast  drawn  upon 
them.  Their  noses  are  likewise  bored  and  hung  with 
beads,  and  their  faces  painted  with  various  colors.  On 
their  breasts  are  a  gorget  or  medal  of  brass,  copper,  or 
some  other  metal  ;  and  by  a  string  which  goes  round 
their  necks,  is  suspended  that  horrid  weapon  called  the 
scalping  knife. 

Thus  equipped,  they  march  forth,  singing  their  war 
song,  till  they  lose  sight  of  their  village  ;  and  are  gener¬ 
ally  followed  by  their  women,  who  assist  them  in  carrying 
their  baggage,  whether  by  land  or  water,  but  commonly 
return  before  they  proceed  to  action. 

They  have  generally  one  commander  for  every  ten 
men  ;  and  if  the  number  amounts  to  one  hundred,  a  gen¬ 
eral  is  appointed  over  thi*  others,  not  properly  to  com- 
mand,  but  to  give  his  opinion.  They  have  no  stated 
rules  ot  discipline,  or  fixed  methods  of  carrying  on  a 
war  ;  but  make  their  attacks  in  as  many  different  ways 
as  there  are  occasions,  but  generally  in  flying  parties? 
equipped  for  that  purpose. 


The  weapons  used  by  those  who  trade  with  the  Eng¬ 
lish  and  French  are  commonly  a  firelock,  a  hatchet,  and 
a  scalping-knife  ;  but  the  others  use  bows,  tomahawks 
and  pikes.  As  the  commander  in  chief  governs  only  by 
advice,  and  can  neither  reward  nor  punish,  every  private 
may  return  home  when  he  pleases  without  assigning  any 
reason  tor  it  ;  or  any  number  may  leave  the  main  body? 
and  carry  on  a  private  expedition,  in  whatever  manner 
they  please,  without  being  called  to  account  for  their 
conduct. 

When  the  Indians  return  trom  a  successful  campaign, 
they  contrive  their  march  so  as  not  to  approach  their  vil¬ 
lage  till  toward  the  evening.  They  then  send  two  or 
thrfee  forward  to  acquaint  their  chief,  and  the  whole  vil¬ 
lage,  with  the  most  material  circumstances  of  their  cam¬ 
paign.  At  day-light  next  morning,  they  give  their  prison¬ 
ers  new  clothes,  paint  their  faces  with  various  colors,  and 
put  into  their  hand  a  white  Staff,  tasselled  round  with  the 
tails  of  deer.  This  being  done,  the  war-captain  sets  up 
a  cry,  and  gives  as  many  yells  as  he  has  taken  prisoners 
and  Scalps,  and  the  whole  village  assemble  at  the  water 
side.  As  soon  as  the  warriors  appear,  four  or  five  of  their 
young  men,  well  clothed,  get  into  a  canoe,  if  they  come 
by  water,  or  otherwise  march  by  land  :  the  two  first  car¬ 
rying  each  a  calmut,  go  out  singing  to  search  the  pri¬ 
soners,  whom  they  lead  in  triumph  to  the  cabin  where 
they  are  to  receive  their  doom.  The  owner  of  this  cabin 
has  the  power  of  determining  their  fate,  though  it  is  of¬ 
ten  left  to  some  women  who  has  lost  her  husband,  brother, 
or  son  in  the  war ;  and  when  this  is  the  case,  she  gene¬ 
rally  adopts  him  into  the  place  of  the  deceased.  The 
prisoner  has  victuals  immediately  given  him  and  while 
he  is  at  this  repast,  a  consultation  is  held  ;  and  if  it  b$ 
resolved  to  save  his  life,  two  young  men  untie  him,  and 
taking  him  by  the  hands,  lead  him  to  the  cabin  of  the 


I 


100— 


1 


person  into  whose  family  he  is  to  be  adopted,  and  there 
he  is  received  with  all  imaginable  marks  of  kindness.  He 
is  treated  as  a  friend,  as  a  brother,  or  as  a  husband,  and 
they  soon  love  him  with  the  same  tenderness  as  if  he  stood 
in  the  place  of  one  of  their  friends.  In  short,  he  has  no 

T 

other  marks  of  captivity,  bfot  his  not  being  suffered  to  re¬ 
turn  to  his  own  nation,  for  his  attempting  this  would  be 
punished  with  certain  death. 

But  if  the  sentence  be  death,  how  different  their  con¬ 
duct  1  these  people,  who  behave  with  such  disinterested 
affection  to  each  other,  with  such  tenderness  to  those 
whom  they  adopt,  here  shew  that  they  are  truly  savages  ; 
the  dreadful  sentence  is  no  sooner  passed,  than  the  whole 
village  set  up  the  death  cry  ;  and,  as  if  there  were  no 
medium  between  the  most  generous  friendship  and  the 
most  inhuman  cruelty  ;  for  the  execution  of  him  whom 
they  had  just  before  deliberated  upon  admitting  into  their 
tribe  is  no  longer  deferred,  than  whilst  they  can  make  the 
necessary  preparations  for  rioting  in  the  most  diabolical 
cruelty.  They  first  strip  him,  and  fixing  two  posts  in 
the  ground,  fasten  to  them  two  pieces  from  one  to  the 
other ;  one  about  two  feet  from  the  ground,  the  other 
about  five  or  six  feet  higher  :  then  obliging  the  unhappy 
victim  to  mount  upon  the  lower  cross  piece,  they  tie  his 
legs  to  it  a  little  asunder :  his  hands  are  extended  and 
tied  to  the  angles  formed  by  the  upper  piece.  In  this 
posture  they  burn  him  all  over  the  body,  sometimes  first 
daubing  him  with  pilch.  The  whole  village,  men,  wo¬ 
men,  and  children,  assemble  round  him,  every  one  tor¬ 
turing  him  in  what  manner  they  please,  each  striving  to 
exceed  the  other  in  cruelty,  as  long  as  be  has  life.  -But 
if  none  of  the  bye-standers  are  inclined  to  lengthen  out 
his  torments,  he  is  either  shot  to  death,  or  inclosed  with 
dry  bark,  to  which  they  set  firej  they  then  leave  him  on 
the  frapie,  and  in  the  evening  run  from  cabin  to  cabbv 


p 


superstitiouly  striking  with  small  twigs,  the  furniture, 
walls,  and  roofs,  to  prevent  his  spirit  from  remaining 
there  to  take  vengeance  for  the  evils  committed  on  his 
body.  The  remainder  of  the  day  and  the  night  follow- 

m  r 

ing  is  spent  in  rejoicing. 

This  is  the  most  usual  method  of  murdering  their  pri¬ 
soners  ;  but  sometimes  they  fasten  them  to  a  single 
stake,  and  build  a  fire  around  them  ;  at  other  times  they 
cruelly  mangle  their  limbs,  cut  off  their  fingers  and  tees 
joint  by  joint,  and  sometimes  scald  them  to  death. 

What  is  the  most  extraordinary,  if  the  sufferer  be  an 
Indian,  there  seems  during  the  whole  time  of  his  execu¬ 
tion,  a  contest  between  him  and  his  tormentors,  which 
shall  outdo  the  other,  they  in  inflicting  the  most  horrid 
pains,  or  he  in  enduring  them  :  not  a  groan,  nor  a  sigh, 
Jiot  a  distortion  of  countenance  escapes  him  in  the  midst 
of  his  torments.  It  is  even  said,  that  he  recounts  his  own 
exploits,  informs  them  what  cruelties  he  has  indicted  up¬ 
on  their  countrymen,  and  threatens  with  the  revenge  that 
will  attend  his  death  :  that  he  even  reproaches  them  for 
their  ignorance  of  the  art  of  tormenting;  points  out 
methods  of  more  exquisite  torture,  and  more  sensible 
parts  of  the  body  to  be  afflicted. 

The  scalps,  those  dreadful  proofs  of  the  barbarity  of 
these  Indians,  are  valued,  and  bung  up  in  their  houses  as 
the  trophies  of  their  bravery  ;  and  they  have  certain  days 
when  the  young  men  gain  a  new  name  or  title  of  honor, 
according  to  the  qualities  of  the  persons  to  whom  these 
scalps  belonged.  This  name  they  think  a  sufficient  .re¬ 
ward  for  the  dangers  and  fatigues  of  many  campaigns,  as 
it  renders  them  respected  by  their  countrymen,  and  terri¬ 
ble  to  their  enemies. 

In  the  late  American  revolution,  Britain  had  the  inhu¬ 
manity  to  reward  these  sons  of  barbarity  for  depredations 
corn  mi ’ted  upon  those  who  were  struggling  in  the  cause 


of  liberty  !— It  was  through  their  instigation  that  the 
hatchets  of  the  Indians  were  made  drunk  with  American 
blood  ! — the  widow’s  wail,  the  virgin’s  shriek,  and  infant’s 
trembling  cry,  was  music  in  their  ears.  In  cold  blood 
they  struck  their  cruel  tomahawks  into  the  defenceless 
head  of  a  Miss  M‘Kray,  a  beautiful  girl,  who  was  that  ve¬ 
ry  day  to  have  been  married  ! — the  particulars  of  the  in¬ 
human  transaction  follow  : — Previous  to  the  late  war 
between  America  and  Great-Britain,  a  British  officer  by 
the  name  of  Jones,  an  accomplished  young  man,  resid¬ 
ed  near  Fort  Edward— his  visits  thither  became  more 
frequent,  when  he  found  himself  irresistibly  drawn  by 
charms  of  native  worth  and  beauty.  Miss  M^KTiay, 
whose  memory  is  dear  to  humanity  and  true  affection, 
was  the  object  of  his  peregrinations. 

Mr.  Jones  had  not  taken  the  precautions  necessary  in 
hazardous  love,  but  had  manifested  to  the  lady  by  his 
constant  attention,  undissembled  and  ingenious  demean¬ 
or,  that  ardent  affection,  which  a  susceptible  heart  com¬ 
pelled  her  implicity  to  return.  In  this  mutual  inter¬ 
change  of  passions,  they  suffered  them  selves. to  be  trans¬ 
ported  on  the  ocean  of  imagination,  till  the  unwelcome 
necessity  of  a  separation  cut  off  every  springing  hope. 
The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  America  commen¬ 
ced — a  removal  from  this  happy  spot  was  in  consequence 
suggested  to  Mr.  JoNiis,  as  indispensible.  Nothing 
cou’d  alleviate  their  mutual  horror,  but  duty — nothing 
could  allay  their  reciprocal  grief,  so  as  to  render  a  sep* 
crate  corporeal  existence  tolerable,  but  solemn  vowrs, 
with  the  ideas  of  a  future  meeting.  Mr.  Jones  repaired 
to  Canada,  where  all  intercourse  with  the  Provincials 
was  prohibited.  Despair,  which  presented  itself  in  ag¬ 
gravated  colours  when  General  Burgoyne’s  expedition 
through  the  States  was  fixed,  succeeded  to  Ids  former 
hopes.— The  British  army  being  encamped  about  three 


—  103 


Smiles  from  the  Fort,  a  descent  was  daily  projecting* 
Here  Mr.  Jones  could  not  but  recognize  the  spot,  on 
which  rested  all  his  joys.  He  figured  to  his  mind  the 
dread,  which  his  hostile  approach  must  raise  in  the 
breast  of  her,  whom  of  all  others,  he  thought  it  his  high¬ 
est  interest  to  protect. — In  spite  of  arrettes  and  com¬ 
mands  to  the  contrary,  he  found  means  secretly  to  con¬ 
vey  a  letter,  inlreating  her  not  to  leave  the  town  with 
the  family,  assuring  her,  that  as  soon  as  the  fort  should 
have  surrendered,  he  would  convey  her  to  an  asylum, 
where  they  might  peaceably  consummate  the  nuptial 
ceremony.  Far  from  discrediting  the  sincerity  ot  him 
who  could  not  deceive  her,  she  heroically  refused  to  fol¬ 
low  the  flying  villagers.  The  remonstrances  of  a  father, 
or  the  tearful  intreaties  of  a  mother  and  numerous  friends 
could  not  avail  !  It  was  enough  that  her  lover  was  her 
friend — she  considered  hertelf  protected  by  the  love  and 
voluntary  assurances  of  her  youthful  hero.  With  the 
society  of  a  servant  maid,  she  impatiently  waited  the 
desired  conveyance.  Mr.  Jones  finding  the  difficulty  in¬ 
to  which  he  was  brought,  at  length,  lor  want  of  better 
convoy,  hired  a  party  of  twelve  Indians,  to  carry  a  let¬ 
ter  to  Miss  M’Kray,  with  his  own  horse,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  carrying  her  to  the  place  appointed.  They  set 
off,  fired  with  the  anticipation  of  their  promised  premi¬ 
um,  which  was  to  consist  of  a  quantity  of  spirits,  on  con¬ 
dition  that  they  brought  her  off  in  safety,  which,  to  an 
Indian,  was  the  most  cogent  stimulus  the  young  lover 
could  have  named.  Having  arrived  in  view  of  her  win¬ 
dow^  they  segaciously  held  up  the  letter,  to  prevent  the 
fears  and  apprehensions  which  a  savage  knows  he  must 
excite,  in  the  sight  of  tenderness  and  sensibility.  Her 
faith  and  expectations  enabled  her  to  divine  the  business 
of  these  ferocious  missionaries,  while  her  frightened 
maid  uttered  nought  but  shrieks  and  cries*  They  ar» 

■V,  v  ,  '.,'''4  v-\ t 


—  304 — 


rived,  and  by  their  signs  convinced  her  from  whom  they 
had  their  instructions.  If  a, doubt  could  remain,  it  was 
removed  by  the  letter— it  was  from  her  lover.  A  lock 
of  his  hair,  which  it  contained,  presented  his  manly 
figure  to  her  glowing  fancy. 

Here,  reader,  guess  what  mast  have  been  her  ecsta- 
cy. — She  resolved  to  brave  even  the  most  horrid  aspect, 
which  might  appear  between  her  and  him,  whom  she 
considered  already  hers,  without  a  sigh— she- did  not  for 
a  moment  hesitate  to  follow  the  wishes  cf  her  lover  ;  and 
took  journey  with  these  bloody  messengers*  expecting 
very  soon  to  be  shielded  in  the  arms  of  legitimate  affec¬ 
tion.  A  short  distance  only  then  seemed  to  seperate  two 
of  the  happiest  of  mortals. — Alas  !  how  soon  are  the 
most  brilliant  pictures  of  felicity  defaced  by  the  burning 
hand  of  affliction  and  wo  !  How  swiftly  are  the  halcyon 
dreams,  which  lull  the  supine  indolence  of  thought,  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  the  real  pangs  which  are  inflicted  by  a  punish¬ 
ing  providence  or  a  persecuting  foe  ! 

Having  risen  the  hill,  at  about  equal  distances  from 
the  camp  and  her  former  home,  a  second  party  of  In¬ 
dians  having  heard  of  the  captivating  offer  made  by  Mr. 
Jones,  determined  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportuni¬ 
ty.  The  reward  was  the  great  object.  A  clashing  of 
real  and  assumed  lights  was  soon  followed  by  a  furious 
and  bloody  engagement,  in  which  several  were  killed  on 
each  side.  The  commander  of  the  first  party,  perceiv¬ 
ing  that  nought  but  the  lady’s  death  could  appease  the 
fury  of  either,  with  a  tomahawk  deliberately  knocked  her 
from  her  horse,  mangling  her  scalp  from  her  beautiful 
temples,  which  he  excitingly  bore  as  a  trophy  of  zeal 
to  the  expectant  and  anxious  lover  !  Here,  O  disap¬ 
pointment,  was  thy  sting  !  It  was  with  the  greatest  dif¬ 
ficulty  that  Mr.  Jones  could  be  kept  from  total  deliri- 
ti©i  His  horror  and  indignation  could  not  be  appeased  5 


— 105— 

his  remorse  for  having  risked  his  most  valuable  treasure 
in  the  hands  of  savages !  drove  him  almost  to  madness. 
When  the  particulars  of  the  melancholy  event  reached 
Gen.  Burgoynk,  he  ordered  the  survivors  of  both  these 
parties  to  immediate  execution. 


CHAP.  V. 

INVASION  of  NEW- YORK  and  NEW-ENGLANOj 

AND 

DESTRUCTION  of  SCHENECTADY,  by  the 
FRENCH  and  INDIANS ,  in  1690, 


IN  the  year  1690,  the  Mohawks  having  made  several 
successful  expeditions  against  the  Canadians,  the  Count 
Frontenac  (to  raise  the  depressed  spirits  of  the  latter) 
despatched  several  parties  of  French  and  Indians  to  attack 
the  frontier  settlements  of  New-York  and  New-England* 
A  detachment  of  nearly  500  French  and  Indians,  under 
the  command  of  Monsieurs  P.  Aillebout,  De  Waulet 
and  Lk  Wayne,  were  despatched  from  Montreal  for  this 
purpose  ; — they  were  furnished  with  every  thing  neces¬ 
sary  for  a  winter’s  campaign.— After  a  march  of  twenty- 
two  days,  they  on  the  8th  February  reached  Schenectady 
— they  had  on  their  march  been  so  reduced  as  to  harbour 
thoughts  of  surrendering  themselves  prisoners  of  war  to 
the  English  ;  but  their  spies  (who  bad  been  for  several 
days  i-n  the  village,  entirely  unsuspected)  representing  in 
so  strong  terms  the  defenceless  state  of  the  inhabitants, 
as  determined  them  to  make  an  immediate  attack.— They 
found  the  gates  open  and  unguarded — they  entered  them 
about  eleven  o’clock  at  night,  and  the  better  to  effect  their 
hellish  purpose  divided  their. main  body  into  several  dis- 

O 


tinct  parties  of  six  or  seven  men  each  -the  inhabitants 
were  in  a  profound  sleep,  and  unalarmed  until  the  enemy 
had  broken  open  their  doors  and  wilh  uplifted  tomahawks 
were  surrounding  their  beds  l — before  they  had  time  to 
rise,  the  savages  began  the  perpetration  of  the  most  in¬ 
human  barbarities  i — no  language  can  express  the  cruel¬ 
ties  which  were  committed — in  less  than  one  hour  two 
hundred  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  were  slain  and 
the  whole  village  enwrapt  in  flames  !— -A  detail  of  the 
cruelties  committed  by  the  barbarians  cannot  be  read 
without  horror. — They  ravished,  rifled,  murdered  and 
mutilated  the  inhabitants  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex, 
without  any  other  provocation  or  incitement  than  brutal 
lust  and  wantonness  of  barbarit}’  ■ — pregnant  women 
were  ripped  open  and  their  infants  cast  into  the  flames  or 
dashed  against  the  posts  of  the  doors  !  ! — such  monsters 
of  barbarity  ought  certainly  to  be  excluded  from  all  the 
priviledges  of  human  nature,  and  hunted  down  as  wild 
beats,  without  pity  or  cessation. — A  few  of  the  inhabitants 
escaped,  and  in  their  shirts  (in  a  severe  and  stormy  night) 
fled  to  Albany — twenty-five  of  the  fugatives  in  their  flight 
perished  with  the  cold.  The  enemy  after  destroying  the 
inhabitants  killed  all  the  horses  and  cattle  which  they 
could  find,  with  the  exception  of  about  thirty  of  the  for¬ 
mer,  which ‘they  loaded  with  their  plunder  and  drove  off. 

When  the  news  of  the  horrid  massacre  reached  Alba¬ 
ny,  an  universal  fear  and  consternation  seized  the  inha¬ 
bitants — the  country  became  panic  struck  ;  and  many  en¬ 
tertained  thoughts  of  destroying  the  town  and  abandoning 
thai  part  of  the  country  to  the  enemy. 

A'  second  party  of  the  enemy  which  Count  Frontenag 
had  detached  from  the  main  body  at  the  three  rivers  (un¬ 
der  command  of  Sieur  Bartel,  an  officer  of  distinguish¬ 
ed  character  in  Canada)  on  the  18th  February  fell  upon 
Salmon  Falls  (a  plantation  on  the  river  which  divides 


New-Hampshire  from  the  province  of  Maine)— -the  party 
consisted  of  about  70  men,  more  than  half  of  whom  were 
Indians  ;  they  commenced  the  attack  at  break  of  day,  ia 
three  different  places,  and  although  the  inhabitants  were 
surprized,  yet  they  fled  to  their  arms  and  defended  them¬ 
selves  with  bravery  which  even  their  enemies  applauded  ; 
but  they  were  finally  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  for¬ 
ty  three  of  them  (men,  women  and  children)  fell  victims 
to  savage  barbarity. 

The  depredations  of  the  French  and  Indians  filled  the 
inhabitants  of  the  western  country  with  fear  and  alarm* 
— The  Assembly  of  New- York  conceived  it  necessary  to 
make  every  exertion  to  prevent  the  settlement  of  the 
French  at  Albany — it  was  resolved  that  two  companies 
ol  100  men  each  should  be  raised  and  sent  forward  for 
that  purpose.  For  the  defence  of  the  frontier  towns  in 
New-England,  it  was  ordered  that  a  constant  watch  should 
be  kept  in  the  several  towns,  and  that  all  males  (above 
18  and  under  60  years  of  age)  should  be  held  in  readi¬ 
ness  to  march  at  the  shortest  notice. 

On  the  20th  March,  at  a  proposed  meeting  of  Com- 
missionecs  from  New-York  and  New-England,  a  plan 
was  proposed  and  adopted  for  envading  Canada — 800  men 
were  ordered  to  be  raised  for  the  purpose— the  quotas  of 
the  several  colonies  were  fixed,  and  general  rules  adop¬ 
ted  for  the  management  of  the  army.  A  small  vessel 
was  sent  express  to  England  the  beginning  of  April, 
carrying  a  representation  of  the  exposed  state  of  the 
colonies  and  the  necessity  of  the  reduction  of  Canada — 
a  prayer  was  also  forwarded  to  his  majesty  for  a  supply 
of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  a  number  of  frigates  to> 
attack  the  enemy  by  water,  while  the  colonial  troops 
made  an  invasion  by  land.  John  Winthrop,  Esq.  was 
appointed  major-general  and  commander  in  chief  of  the 
land  army,  and  arrived  with  the  troops  under  his  com- 


—108— 

mand  near  the  falls  at  the  head  of  Wood  Creek,  early  in 
the  month  of  August. 

When  the  army  arrived  at  the  place  appointed  for  the 
rendezvous  of  the  Indians,  from  the  Five  Nations  (who 
had  engaged  to  assist  the  English)  instead  of  meeting 
with  that  powerful  body  which  they  expected  and  which 
the  Indians  had  promised,  there  was  no  more  than  70 
warriors  from  the  Mohawks  and  Gneidas  !— When  the 
general  had  advanced  about  100  miles,  he  found  that 
there  were  not  canoes  sufficient  to  transport  one  half  the 
English  across  the  lake— upon  representing  to  the  In¬ 
dians  the  impossibility  of  the  army’s  passing  into  Cana¬ 
da  without  a  much  greater  number  of  canoes,  they  re¬ 
plied  that  it  was  then  too  late  in  the  season  to  make  ca¬ 
noes,  as  the  bark  would  not  peel — in  short,  they  artfully 
evaded  every  proposal,  and  finally  told  the  general  and 
bis  officers  that  they  looked  too  high  and  advised  them 
only  to  attack  Chambly,  and  the  out  settlements  on  this 
side  of  St.  Lawrence — thus  did  these  Indians  (who  a  few 
years  before  had  so  harrassed  all  the  French  and  Indians 
in  Canada)  exhibit  the  greatest  proofs  of  cowardice  ! — . 
the  English  finding  it  impossible  to  cross  the  iake  with 
advantage,  returned  to  Albany,  and  thus  the  expedition 
failed. 

In  the  year  1693,  Count  Frontenac  finding  that  he 
could  not  accomplish  a  peace  with  the  Mohawks  (who  of 
all  the  Indians  had  been  by  far  the  most  destructive  to 
the  settlements  in  Canada)  determined  on  their  destruc¬ 
tion.  He  collected  an  army  of  about  700  French  and 
Indians,  and,  having  supplied  them  with  every  thing  ne¬ 
cessary  for  a  winter  campaign,  sent  them  against  the 
Mohawk  castles. — They  commenced  their  march  from 
Montreal  on  the  15th  January  1693 — after  enduring  in¬ 
credible  hardships,  they  fell  in  with  the  first  castle  about 
the  Ipth  February— the  Mohawks  were  unprepared  for 


—  109 


an  attack,  not  having  the  least  intimation  of  the  approach 
of  the  Canadians — the  enemy  killed  and  captured  about 
SO  of  the  Mohawks  at  this  castle  and  then  proceeded  for 
the  second,  at  which  they  were  equally  successful ;  a  . 
great  part  of  the  Mohawks  were  at  Schenectady  and  the 
remainder  perfectly  secure  ; — when  they  arrived  at  the 
third  castle  they  found  about  eighty  warriors  collected  at 
a  war-dance,  as  they  designed  the  next  day  to  go  upon 
an  cnterprize  against  their  enemies— a  conflict  ensued;  in 
which  the  Canadians,  after  losing  about  thirty  men,  were 
victorious,  and  the  third  castle  was  taken.  The  Canadi¬ 
ans  in  their  descent  took  near  three  hundred  prisoners, 
principally  women  and  children. — The  brave  Colonel 
Schuyler  of  Albany  (receiving  information  of  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  the  enemy)  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  volun¬ 
teers  of  about  400  English  and  Dutch,  pursued  them— 
on  the  25ih  February  he  was  joined  by  about  300  Indians, 
and  with  this  force  on  the  29th  fell  in  with  the  enemy, 
whom  he  found  lodged  in  a  fortified  camp— the  Canadi¬ 
ans  made  three  successive  sallies  upon  the  colonel,  and 
were  as  often  repulsed,  he  kept  his  ground,  wailing  for 
provisions  and  a  reinforcement  from  Albany  :--the  ene¬ 
my  at  length  taking  the  advantage  of  a  violent  snow 
storm,  escaped,  and  marched  to  Canada; — the  day  fol¬ 
lowing  Capt.  Sims,  with  a  reinforcement  and  a  supply 
of  provision  arrived  from  Albany,  and  the- day  succeed¬ 
ing  the  colonel  reassumed  the  pursuit ;  but  the  Canadi¬ 
ans  luckily  finding  a  cake  of  ice  across  the  north  branch 
of  Hudson  river,  made  their  escape:  they  were  however 
so  closely  pursued  by  the  English  and  Dutch  that  they 
could  not  prevent  the  escape  of  most  of  their  prisoners, 
who  all  (with  the  exception  of  nine  or  ten)  returned  in 
safety  to  their  country.  Colonel  Schuyler  lost  12  of 
his  party,  and  had  19  wounded — according  to  the  report 
of  the  captives  the  enemy  lost  50  men,  five  of  whom 

■  V  :  «  .  O  "  : 

.  1 

•i  Y\  ■ 


} 


—  1 10— 

•#  4  '  «  it  ■'  S..  .  *  .  V  - 

were  French  officers,  and  two  Indian  guides,  and  had  a- 
bout  70  wounded.  The  Mohawks  on  their  return  found 
about  forty  dead  bodies  of  the  enemy  which  they  scalped 
and  devoured,  indeed  so  great  was  their  hunger  ! 

am  —  “IT  r 

CHAP.  VI. 

washingtonTexpedition, 

IN  1753 - AND 

DEFEAT  of  General  BRADDOCK \ 

By  the  Indians ,  in  1755. 

IN  1753,  the  French  and  Indians  began  to  make 
inroads  on  our  western  frontiers  along  the  Ohio.  Gov- 
ernor  Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  was  very  desirous  to  get 
a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  their  commander  in  chief— 
Me.  had  applied  to  several  young  gentlemen  of  his  ac¬ 
quaintance,  but  they  were  all  so  deficient  in  courage  that 
they  could  not  be  prevailed  on  for  love  or  money,  to  ven¬ 
ture  out  among  the  savages.  Our  beloved  Washing¬ 
ton  happening  to  hear  of  it,  instantly  waited  on  his  ex¬ 
cellency,  and  offered  his  services,  but  not  without  being 
terribly  afraid  lest  his  want  of  a  beard  should  go  against 
him.  However,  the  Governor  was  so  charmed  with  hig 
modesty  and  manly  air,  that  he  never  asked  him  a  sylla¬ 
ble  about  his  age,  but  after  thanking  him  for  u  a  noble 
youth and  insisting  on  his  taking  a  glass  of  e  with 
him,  slipped  a  commission  into  his  hand.  The  >  xt  dayf 
accompanied  by  an  interpreted  and  a  couple  ol  r  vants, 
he  set  out  on  his  expedition,  which  was,  from  start  to 
pole,  as  disagreeable  and  dangerous  as  any  thin  lercu- 
lus  himself  could  have  wished.  Soaking  rains,  chilling 
blasts,  roaring  floods,  pathless  woods,  and  met  ains 
clad  in  snows,  opposed  his  course  ;  but  opposed  in  ain. 
The  glorious  ambition  to  serve  his  country  imps  t  an 


animation  to  his  nerves,  which  rendered  him  superior  to 
all  difficulties. 

Returning  homewards,  he  was  waylaid  and  shot  at  by 
a  French  Indian,  and  though  the  copper-colored  ruffian 
was  not  15  steps  distant  when  he  fired  at  him,  yet  not 
even  so  much  as  the  smell  of  lead  passed  on  the  clothes 
of  our  young  hero.  On  his  return  to  Virginia,  it  was 
found  that  he  had  executed  his  negociations,  both  with 
the  French  and  Indians,  with  such  fidelity  and  judgement, 
that  he  received  the  heartiest  thanks  of  the  Governor  and 
Council  for  the  very  important  services  he  had  done  his 
country. 

He  was  now  (in  the  20th  year  of  his  age)  appointed 
major  and  adjutant-general  of  the  Virginia  forces.  Soon 
after  this,  the  Indians  continuing  the  encroachments,  or¬ 
ders  were  given  by  the  English  government,  for  the  col¬ 
onies  to  arm  and  unite  in  one  confederacy..  Virginia 
took  the  lead,  and  raised  a  regiment  of  four  hundred 
men,  at  the  head  of  which  she  placed  her  darling  Wash¬ 
ington. 

With  this  handtul  of  brave  fellows,  Col.  Washington, 
not  yet  23  years  of  age,  boldly  pushed  out  into  the  In¬ 
dian  country,  and  there  for  a  considerable  time,  Hanni¬ 
bal-like,  maintained  the  war  against  three  times  the 
number  of  French  and  Indians.  At  the  Red-Stones  he 
came  up  with  a  strong  party  of  the  enemy,  whom  he 
engaged  and  effectually  defeated,  after  having  killed  and 
taken  thirty  one  men.  From  his  prisoners  he  obtained 
undoubted  intelligence,  that  the  French  forces  on  the 
Ohio  consisted  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  regulars  and 
many  hundreds  of  Indians.  But  notwithstanding  this 
disheartening  advice,  he  still  pressed  on  undauntedly  a- 
gainst  the  enemy,  and  at  a  place  called  the  Little  Mead- 
*  ows,  built  a  fort,  which  he  called  Fort  Necessity.  Here 
he  waited,  hourly  and  anxiously  looking  for  succours 


from  New* York  and  Pennsylvania  ;  but  he  looked  in 
vain— nobody  came  to  his  assistance.  Not  long  after 
this  his  small  force,  now  reduced  to  three  hundred  men, 
were  attacked  by  an  army  of  1100  French  and  Indians.. 
Never  did  the  true  Virginian  valor  shine  more  glorious¬ 
ly  than  on  this  trying  occasion. 

To  see  three  hundred  young  fellows— commanded  by 
a  smooth-faced  boy — all  unaccustomed  to  the  terrors  of 
war— far  from  home,  and  from  all  hopes  of  help — shut 
up  in  a  dreary  wilderness,  and  surrounded  by  four  times 
their  number  of  savage  foes,  and  yet,  without  sign  of 
fear,  without  thought  of  surrender,  preparing  for  mortal 
combat.  Oh  !  it  was  a  noble  sight  ! — Scarcely  since  the 
days  ot  Leonidas  and  his  three  hundred  deathless  Spar¬ 
tans,  had  the  sun  beheld  its  equal.  With  hideous  whoops 
and  yells  the  enemy  came  on  like  a  host  of  tygers.  The 
woods,  and  rocks,  and  tall  tree  tops  (as  the  Indians  climb¬ 
ing  to  the  tops  of  the  trees,  poured  down  their  bullets 
into  the  fort)  were  in  one  continued  blaze  and  crash  of 
'fire-arms.  Nor  were  our  young  warriors  idle,  but,  ani- 
fhaed  by  their  gallant  chief,  plied  their  rifles  with  such 
spirit,  that  their  little  .fort  resembled  a  valcano  in  full 
blast,  roaring  and  discharging  thick  sheets  of  liquid  fire 
and  of  leaden  deaths  among  their  foes.  For  three  glori- 
cvs  hours,  Salamander  like,  inveloped  in  smoke  and 
flame,  they  sustained  the  attack  of  the  enemy's  whole 
force,  and  laid  two  hundred  of  them  dead  on  the  spot  1-^-. 
Disconraged  by  such  desperate  resistance,  the  French 
general,  the  Count  de  Villiers  sent  in  a  flag  to  Wash¬ 
ington^  extolling  his  gallantry  to  the  skies,  and  offering 
Kim  the  most  honorable  terms.  It  was  stipulated  that 
Col.  Washington  and  his  little  bend  of  heroes,  should 
march  away  with  all  the  honors  of  war,  and  carry  with 
them  ibeir  military  stores  and  baggage. 

la  the  bpring  of  1765,  Washington,  while  busied  m 


—113— 

the  highest  military  operations,  was  summoned  to  attend 
Gen.  Braddock,  who  in  the  month  of  February,  arrived 
at  Alexandria,  with  2000  British  troops.  The  Assembly 
of  Virginia  appointed  800  provincials  to  join  him.  The 
object  of  this  army  was  to  mat  ch  through  the  country, 
by  the  way  of  Will's  Creek,  to  fort  Du  Q  tesne  (now 
Pittsburgh,  or  Fort  Pitt.)  As  no  person  was  so  well  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  frontier  country  as  Washington,  and 
none  stood  so  high  in  military  fame,  it  was  thought  he 
would  be  infinitely  serviceable  to  general  Braddock,  At 
the  request  of  the  Governor  and  Council  he  cheerfully 
quitted  his  own  command,  to  act  as  volunteer  aid  de» 
camp  to  that  very  imprudent  and  unfortunate  general.— 
The  army,  near  3000  strong,  marched  from  Alexandria 
and  proceeded  unmolested  within  a  few  miles  of  Fort 
Pitt.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  in  which  they  expect¬ 
ed  to  arrive,  the  provincial  scouts  discovered  a  large  party 
of  French  and  Indians  lying  in  ambush.  Washington, 
With  his  usual  modesty,  observed  to  Gen.  Braddock 

•  i  ,  •  »*>  r 

What  sort  of  enemy  he  had  now  to  deal  with.  An  enemy 
who  would  not,  like  the  Europeans,  come  forward  to  a 
fair  contest  in  the  field,  but,  concealed  behind  rocks  and 
trees  carry  on  a  deadly  Warfare  with  their  rifles.  He  con¬ 
cluded  with  begging  that  Gen.  Braddock  would  grant 
him  the  honor  to  let  him  place  himsell  at  the  head  of  the 
Virginia  riflemen,  and  fight  ihem  in  their  own  way.— 
And  it  was  generally  thought  that  our  young  hero  and 
his  800  hearts  of  hickory,  would  very  easily  have  beaten 
them  too,  for  they  were  no  superior  to  the  foice,  which, 
(with  only  three  hundred)  he  had  handled  so  rougldy  a 
twelve  month  before.  But  Gen.  Bradd  ck,  wno  had  all 
along  treated  the  American  officers  and  soldiers  with  in¬ 
finite  contempt,  instead  of  following  this  truly  salutary  ad- 
ice,  swelled  and  reddened  with  most  unmanly  rage.— 

High  times,  by  G — d  I”  he  exclaimed,  strutting  to  and 

P 


fro,  with  arms  a  kimbo,  et  High  times  !  when  a  young 
buckskin  can  teach  a  British  general  how  to  fight  !”— 
Washington  withdrew,  biting  his  lips  with  grief  and  in¬ 
dignation,  to  think  what  numbers  of  brave  fellows  would 
draw  short  breath  that  day,  through  the  pride  and  obsti¬ 
nacy  of  one  epauletted  fool.  The  troops  were  ordered 
to  form  and  advance  in  columns  through  the  woods  1 !  !— 
In  a  little  time  the  ruin  which  Washington  had  pre¬ 
dicted  ensued.  This  poor  devoted  army,  pushed  on  by 
their  mad-cap  general,  fell  into  the  fatal  snare  which  was 
laid  for  them.  All  at  once  a  thousand  rifles  began  the 
work  of  death.  The  ground  was  instantly  covered  with 
the  dying  and  the  dead.  The  British  troops,  thus  slaugh¬ 
tered  by  hundreds,  and  by  an  enemy  whom  they  coukl 
not  see,  were  thrown  irrecoverably  into  panic  and  con¬ 
fusion,  and  in  a  few  minutes  their  haughty  general  with 
1200  of  his  brave  but  unfortunate  countrymen,  bit  the 
ground.  PoorBRADDOCK  closed  the  tragedy  with  great 
decency.  He  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  beginning 
of  the  action,  and  Washington  had  him  placed  in  a 
cart  ready  for  retreat.  Close  on  the  lelt,  where  the 
weight  of  the  French  and  Indian  fire  principally  fell, 
Washington  and  his  Virginia  riflemen,  dressed  in  blue, 
sustained  the  shock.  At  every  discharge  of  their  rifles 
the  wounded  general  cried  out,  «  O  my  brave  Virginia 
blues  1  Would  to  God  I  could  live  to  reward  you  for  such 
gallantry But  he  died.  Washington  buried  him  in 
the  road,  and  to  save  him  from  discovery  and  the  scalp¬ 
ing  knife,  ordered  the  waggons  on  their  retreat  to  drive 
over  his  grave  ! — O  God  !  what  is  man  l  Even  a  thing  of 
nought  I  ! 

Amidst  all  this  fearful  consternation  and  carnage, 
amidst  all  the  uproar  and  horrors  of  a  rout,  rendered  still/ 
more  dreadful  by  the  groans  of  the  dying,  the  screams  1 
the  wounded,  the  piercing  shrieks  of  the  women,  and  t 


§?ells  of  the  furious  assaulting  savages,  Washington, 
balm  and  self-collected,  rallied  his  faithful  riflemen,  led 
them  on  to  the  charge,  killed  numbers  of  the  enemy  who 
were  rushing  on  'with  tomahawks,  checked  their  pursuit, 
and  brought  off  the  shattered  Remains  of  the  British  army. 

With  respect  to  our  beloved  Washington,  we  cannot 
hut  mention  here  two  very  extraordinary  speeches  that 
were  uttered  about  him  at  this  time,  and  which,  as  things 
have  turned  out,  look  a  good  deal  like  prophecies.  A  fa¬ 
mous  Indian  warrior  who  assisted  in  the  defeat  of  Brad- 
dock,  was  often  heard  to  swear  that  Washington  was 
not  born  to  be  killed  by  a  bullet ,  «  for,*  continued  he,  u  I 
had  17  fair  fires  at  him  with  my  rifle,  and ,  after  all ,  I 
could  not  bring  him  to  the  ground.” — And,  indeed,  whoever 
considers  that  a  good  rifle,  levelled  by  a  proper  marks¬ 
man,  hardly  ever  misses  its  aim,  will  readily  enough 
conclude  with  this  unlettered  savage,  that  some  invisible 
hand  must  have  turned  aside  his  bullets. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Davies,  in  a  sermon  occasioned  by 
Gen.  Braddock's  defeat,  has  these  remarkable  words— 
«  1  beg  leave  to  point  the  attention  of  the  public  to  that  heroic 
youth ,  Col.  George  Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but 
hope  providence  has  preserved  for  some  great  service  to  this 
Country . 

CHAP.  VII. 

ADVENTURES  OF  CAPT.  DANIEL  BOON, 
Comprising  an  account  of  the  WARS  with  the 
INDIANS,  on  the  OHIO,  from  1769  to  1732. 

WRlffEN  Br  HIMSELF. 

“  IT  was  on  the  first  of  May,  1769,  that  I  re¬ 
signed  my  domestic  happiness,  and  left  my  family  an4 


peaceable  habitation  on  the  Yadkin  river  in  North-Cayo« 
lina,  to  wander  through  the  wilderness  of  America,  in 
guest  of  the  country  of  Kentucky,  in  company  with 

*  r 

John  Finley,  John  Stuaut,  Joseph  Holden,  James 

Monay  and  William  Cool. 

* 

On  the  7 1 h  June,  after  travelling  in  a  western  direc¬ 
tion,  we  found  ourselves  on  Red  river,  where  John  Fin¬ 
ley  had  formerly  been  trading  with  the  Indians,  and 
from  the  top  of  an  eminence  saw  with  pleasure  the 
beautiful  level  of  Kentucky.  For  some  time  we  had  ex¬ 
perienced  the  most  uncomfortable  weather.  We  now 
encamped,  made  a  shelter  to  defend  us  from  the  inclem¬ 
ent  season,  and  began  to  hunt  and  reconnoitre  the  coun¬ 
try.  We  found  abundance  of  wild  beasts  in  this  vast 
forest.  The  buffaloes  were  more  numerous  than  cattle 
on  other  settlements,  browsing  on  leaves  of  the  cane,  or 
crossing  the  herbage  on  these  extensive  plains.  We  savy 
hundreds  in  a  drove,  and  the  numbers  about  the  salt 
springs  were  amazing. —  In  this  forest,  the  habitation  of 
beasts  of  every  American  kind,  we  hunted  with  great 
success  umil  December. 

On  the  22d  December,  John  Stuart  and  I  had  a 
pleasing  ramble  ;  but  fortune  changed  the  day  at  the 
close  of  it.  We  had  passed  through  a  great  forest,  in 
which  sio  d  myriads  pf  trees,  some  gay  with  blossoms, 
others  rich  with  fruits.  Nature  was  here  a  series  of 
wonders  and  a  fund  of  delight.  Here  she  displayed  her 
ingenuity  and  industry  in  a  variety  of  flowers  and  fruits, 
beautifully  colored,  elegantly  shaped,  and  charmingly  fla¬ 
vored  ;  and  we  were  favored  with  numberless  animals 
presenting  themselves  perpetually  to  our  view.  In  the 
decline  of  the  day,  near  Kentucky  river,  as  we  ascended 
the  brow  of  a  small  hill,  a  number  of  Indians  rushed 
out  of  a  thick  cane  brake  and  made  us  prisoners.  The 
Indians  plundered  us  and  kept  us  in  confinement  seven 


days.  During  this  we  discovered  no  uneasiness  or  der 
sire  to  escape,  which  made  them  less  suspicious  :  but  in 
the  dead  of  night,  as  we  lay  by  a  large  fire  in  a  thick 
cane  brake,  when  sleep  had  locked  up  their  senses,  my 
situation  not  disposing  me.  to  rest,  I  gently  awoke  my 
companion. —  We  seized  this  favourable  opportunity  and 
departed,  directing  our  course  toward  our  old  camp,  but 
found  it  plundered  and  our  company  destroyed  or  disper° 
sed. 

About  this  time,  as  my  brother  with  another  adventur¬ 
er  who  came  to  explore  the  country  shortly  after  us,  was 
wandering  thiough  the  forest,  they  accidentally  found 
our  camp.  Notwithstanding  our  unfortunate  circum¬ 
stances,  and  our  dangerous  situation,  surrounded  with 
hostile  savages,  our  meeting  fortunately  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness,  gave  us  the  most  sensible  satisfaction. 

Soon  after  this,  my  companion  in  captivity  ,  John  Stu¬ 
art,  was  killed  by  the  savages,  and  the  man  who  came 
with  my  brother  (while  on  a  private  excursion)  was  soon 
after  attacked  and  killed  by  the  wolves.  We  were  now 
in  a  dangerous  and  helpless  situation,  exposed  daily  to 
perils  and  death,  among  savages  and  wild  beasts,  not  a 
white  man  in  the  country  but  ourselves. 

Although  many  hundred  miles  from  our  families  in 
the  howling  wilderness,  we  did  not  continue  in  a  state  of 
indolence,  but  hunted  every  day,  and  prepared  a  little 
cottage  to  defend  us  from  the  winter  storms.  We  met 
with  no  disturbance  during  the  winter.  On  the  1st  of 
May,  1770,  my  brother  returned  home  for  a  new  recruit 
of  horses  and  ammunition,  leaving  me  alone,  without 
bread;  salt,  or  sugar,  or  even  a  horse  or  a  dog.— I  pas¬ 
sed  a  few  days  uncomfortably — the  idea  of  a  beloved  wife 
and  family,  and  their  anxiety  on  my  account,  would  have 
disposed  me  to  melancholy  if  I  had  further  indulged  the 
thought. 


—  118— 


One  day  I  undertook  a  tour  through  the  country,  when 
the  diversity  and  beauties  of  nature  I  met  with  in  this 
charming  season,  expelled  every  gloomy  thought.  Just 
at  the  close  of  the  day,  the  gentle  gales  ceased  ;  a  pro¬ 
found  calm  ensued  ;  not  a  breath  shook  the  tremulous 
leaf.  I  had  gained  the  summit  of  a  commanding  ridge* 
and  looking  around  with  astonishing  delight  beheld  the 
ample  plains  and  beauteous  tracts  below.  On  one  hand 
I  surveyed  the  famous  Ohio  rolling  in  silent  dignity,  and 
marking  the  western  boundary  ol  Kentucky  with  incon¬ 
ceivable  grandeur.  At  a  vast  distance  I  beheld  the 
mountains  lift  their  venerable  brows  and  penetrate  the 
clouds.  All  things  were  still.  I  kindled  a  fire  near  a 
fountain  of  sweet  water,  and  feasted  on  the  line  of  a 
buck  which  I  had  killed  a  few  hours  before.  The  shades 
of  night  soon  overspread  the  hemisphere,  and  the  earth 
seemed  to  gasp  after  the  hovering  moisture.  At  a  dis¬ 
tance  I  frequently  heard  the  hideous  yells  of  savages; 
My  excursion  had  fatigued  my  body  and  amused  my 
mind.  I  laid  me  down  to  sleep,  and  awoke  not  until  the 
sun  had  chased  away  the  night.  I  continued  this  tour 
and  in  a  few  days  explored  a  considerable  part  of  the 
country,  each  day  equally  pleased  as  the  first ;  after 
which  I  returned  to  my  old  camp,  which  had  not  been 
disturbed  in  my  absence.  I  did  not  confine  my  lodging 
to  it,  but  often  reposed  in  thick  cane  brakes  to  avoid  the 
savages,  who  I  believe  frequently  visited  my  camp,  but 
fortunately  for  me,  in  my  absence.  No  populous  city 
with  all  its  varieties  of  commerce  and  stately  structures, 
could  afford  so  much  pleasure  to  my  mind,  as  the  beau¬ 
ties  of  nature  I  found  in  this  country. 

Until  the  27th  July,  1  spent  the  time  in  an  uninter¬ 
rupted  scene  of  sylvan  pleasures,  when  my  brother,  to 
my  great  felicity,  met  me,  according  to  appointment  at 
our  old  camp.  Soon  after  we  left  the  place  and  proceed ■? 


ed  to  Cumberland  river,  reconnoitreing  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  giving  names  to  the  different  rivers. 

In  March,  1771,  I  returned  home  to  my  family,  being 
determined  to  bring  them  as  soon  as  possible,  at  the 
risk  of  my  life  and  fortune,  to  reside  in  Kentucky,  which 
I  esteemed  a  second  paradise. 

On  my  return  I  found  my  family  in  happy  circumstan¬ 
ces.  I  sold  my  farm  on  the  Yadkin,  and  what  goods  we 
could  not  cany  with  us,  and  on  the  25th  September, 
1773,  we  took  leave  of  our  friends  and  proceeded  on  our 
journey  to  Kentucky,  in  company  with  five  more  families, 
and  forty  men  that  joined  us  in  Powell’s  Valley,  which  i9 
350  miles  from  the  new  settled  parts  of  Kentucky 
but  this  promising  beginning  was  soon  overcast  with  a 
cloud  of  adversity. 

On  the  10th  October  the  rear  of  our  company  was  at* 
tacked  by  a  party  of  Indians  ;  who  killed  six,  and  wound¬ 
ed  one  man.  Of  these  my  eldest  son  was  one  that  fell 
in  the  action.  Though  we  repulsed  the  enemy,  yet  this 
unhappy  affair  scattered  our  cattle  and  brought  us  into 
extreme  difficulty — we  retreated  forty  miles  to  the  set¬ 
tlement  on  Clench  river.  We  had  passed  over  two 
mountains,  Powell’s  and  Walden’s,  and  were  approach¬ 
ing  Cumberland  mountain,  when  this  adverse  fortune 
overtook  us.  These  mountains  are  in  the  wilderness,  in 
passing  from  the  old  settlements  in  Virginia  to  Kentucky, 
are  ranged  in  a  southwest  and  northeast  direction,  are  of 
great  length  and  breadth,  and  not  far  distant  from  each 
other.  Over  them  nature  hath  formed  passes  less  diffi¬ 
cult  than  might  be  expected  from  the  view  of  such  huge 
piles.  The  aspect  of  these  cliffs  are  so  wild  and,  horrid, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  behold  them  without  terrors 

Until  the  6th  June,  1774,  I  remained  with  my  family 
on  the  Clinch,  when  I  and  another  person  were  solicited 
by  Governor  Dunmore,  of  Virginia,  to  conduct  a  num- 


ber  of  surveyors  to  the  falls  of  Ohio.  This  was  a  toff 
of  800  miles,  and  took  us  sixty  two  days. 

On  my  return,  Gov.  Dunmore  gave  me  the  command 
of  thfee  garrisons  during  the  campaign  against  the 
Shawanese.  In  March,  1775,  at  the  solicitation  of  a 
number  of  gentlemen  of  Morth-Carolina,  I  attended  their 
treaty  at  Wataga,  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  to  purchase 
the  lands  on  the  south  side  of  Kentucky  river.  After  this 
I  undertook  to  mark  out  a  road  in  the  best  passage  from 
the  settlements  through  the  wilderness  to  Kentucky. 

Having  collected  a  number  of  enterprising  men  well 
armed,  I  soon  began  this  work — we  proceeded  until  we 
came  within  fifteen  miles  of  where  Boonsboroogh  now 
stands,  where  the  Indians  attacked  us,  and  killed  two 
and  wounded  two  more  of  our  party.  This  was  on  the 
22d  March,  1775 — two  days  after  we  were  again  attacked 
by  them,  when  we  had  two  more  killed  and  three  wound¬ 
ed.  After  this  we  proceeded  on  to  Kentucky  fiver  with¬ 
out  further  opposition. 

On  the  1st  April  we  began  to  erect  the  fort  of  Boons- 
borough,  at  a  salt  lick,  sixty  yards  from  the  river  on  the 
south  side.  On  the  4th  the  Indians  killed  one  of  our 
men.  On  the  14ch  of  June,  having  completed  the  fort, 
I  returned  to  my  family  on  the  Clinch,  and  whom  I  soon 
after  removed  to  the  fort — my  wife  and  daughter  were 
supposed  to  be  the  first  white  women  that  ever  stood  up¬ 
on  the  banks  of  Kentucky  river  1 

On  the  24ih  December  the  Indians  killed  one^of  our 
men  and  wounded  another  ;  and  on  the  14th  July,  1776, 
they  took  my  daughter  prisoner— -I  immediately  pursued 
them  with  eight  men,  and  on  the  16ih  overtook  and  en¬ 
gaged  them,  I  killed  two  of  them  and  recovered  my 
daughter. 

The  Indians  having  divided  themselves  into  several 
parties,  attacked  on  one  day  all  onr  infant  settlements 


and  forts,  doing  a  great  deal  of  damage— the  husband¬ 
men  were  ambushed  and  unexpectedly  attacked  while 
toiling  in  the  field.  They  continued  this  kind  of  war¬ 
fare  until  the  15th  April  1777,  when  nearly  100  of  them 
attacked  the  village  of  Boonsborough,  and  killed  a  num¬ 
ber  of  its  inhabitants.-  On  the  19th  Colonel  Logan’s 
fort  was  attacked  by  200  Indians—there  were  only  15 
men  in  the  fort,  of  whom  the  enemy  killed  two  and 
wounded  one. 

On  the  20ih  August  Col.  Bowman  arrived  with  100 
men  from  Virginia,  with  which  additional  force  we  had 
almost  daily  skirmishes  with  the  Indians,  who  began 
now  to  learn  the  superiority  of  the  “  long  knife,*  as  they 
termed  the  Virginians  ;  being  cut  generated  in  almost 
every  action.  Our  affairs  began  now  to  wear  abetter  as¬ 
pect,  the  Indians  no  longer  daring  to  face  us  in  open 
field,  but  sought  private  opportunities  to  destroy  us. 


On  the  7th  February,  1773,  while  on  a  hunting  excur¬ 
sion,  alone,  I  met  a  party  of  102  Indians,  and  2  French’ 
men,  marching  to  attack  Boonsborough— they  pursued 
and  took  me  prisoner,  and  conveyed  me  to  Old  Chclico- 
the,  the  principal  Indian  town  on  Little  Miami,  w  here  we 
arrived  on  the  18th  February,  after  an  uncomfortable 
journey. — On  the  10th  March  I  was  conducted  to  De¬ 
troit,  and  while  there  was  treated  with  great  humanity  by 
Governor  Hamilton,  the  British  commander  at  that 
port,  and  Intendant  for  Indian 

The  Indians  had  such  an  affecti(®^£br  me,  that  they 
refused  1001.  sterling  offered  them  by  the  Governor,  if 
they  would  consent  to  leave  me  with  him,  that  he  might 
be  enabled  to  liberate  me  on  my  parole.  Several  English 
gentlemen  then  at  Detroit,  sensible  of  my  adverse  fortune* 
and  touched  with  sympathy,  generously  offered  to  supply 
my  wants,  which  I  declined  with  many  thanks,  adding 


Q 


that  I  never  expected  it  would  be  in  my  power  to  recora- 
pence  such  unmerited  generosity. 

On  the  10th  April  the  Indians  returned  with  me  to 
Old  Chelicothe,  where  ive  arrived  on  the  25th. — This 
was  a  long  and  fatiguing  march,  although  through  an 
exceeding  fertile  country,  remarkable  for  springs  and 
streams  of  water.  At  Chelicothe  I  spent  my  time  as 
comfortable  as  I  could  expect  ;  was  adopted,  according 
to  their  custom,  into  a  family,  where  I  became  a  son,  and 
had  a  great  share  in  the  affection  of  my  new  parents, 
brothers,  sisters,  and  friends.  I  was  exceedingly  familiar 
and  friendly  with  them,  always  appearing  as  cheerful 
and  contented  as  possible,  and  they  put  great  confidence 
in  me.  I  often  went  a  hunting  with  them,  and  frequently 
gained  their  applause  for  my  activity  at  our  shooting 
matches.  I  was  careful  not  to  exceed  many  of  them  in 
shooting,  for  no  people  are  more  envious  than  they  in 
this  sport.  I  could  observe  in  their  countenances  and 
gestures  the  greatest  expressions  of  joy  when  they  ex¬ 
ceeded  me,  and  when  the  reverse  happened,  of  envy.— 
The  Shawanese  king  took  great  notice  of  me,  and  treated 
me  with  profound  respect  and  entire  friendship,  often 
entrusting  me  to  hunt  at  my  liberty.  I  frequently  return¬ 
ed  with  the  spoils  of  the  woods,  and  as  often  presented 
some  of  what  I  had  taken  to  him,  expressive  of  duty  to 
my  sovereign.  My  food  and  lodging  was  in  common 
with  them,  not  so  good  indeed  as  I  could  desire,  but  ne¬ 
cessity  made  every  thing  acceptable.  .  $j» 

I  now  began  to  meditate  an  escape,  and  carefully 
avoided  giving  suspicion.  I  continued  at  Chelicothe  un* 
til  the  first  day  of  June,  when  I  was  taken  to  the  salt 
springs  on  Sciotha,  and  there  employed  ten  days  in  the 
manufacturing  of  salt.  During  this  time  I  hunted  with 
ray  Indian  masters,  and  found  the  land  for  a  great  extent 
*bout  this  river  to  exceed  the  soil  of  Kentucky. 


12S— 


On  my  return  to  Chelicothe,  450  of  the  choicest  In¬ 
dian  warriors  were  ready  to  march  against  Boonsbo- 
rough ;  they  were  painted  and  armed  in  a  frightful  man¬ 
ner.  This  alarmed  me  and  I  determined  to  escape. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  before  sunrise,  I  went  off  secretly, 
and  reached  Boonsborough  on  the  20th,  a  journey  cf  160 
miles,  during  which  I  had  only  one  meal.  I  found  our 
fortress  in  a  bad  state,  but  we  immediately  repaired  our 
flanks,  gates,  posterns,  and  formed  double  bastions,  which 
we  completed  in  ten  days.  One  of  my  fellow  prisoners 
escaped  after  me,  brought  advice  that  on  account  of  my 
flight,  the  Indians  had  put  off  their  expedition  for  3  weeks. 

About  August  1st,  I  set  out  with  19  men  to  surprise 
Point  Creek  Town  on  Sciotha,  within  four  miles  of  which 
we  fell  in  with  40  Indians  going  against  Boonsborough— 
we  attacked  them  and  they  soon  gave  way  without  any 
loss  on  our  part— -the  enemy  had  one  killed  and  two 
Wounded— -we  took  three  horses  and  all  their  baggage. — 
The  Indians  having  evacuated  their  town,  and  gone  alto¬ 
gether  against  Boonsborough,  we  returned,  passed  them 
on  the  6th,  and  on  the  7th  arrived  safe  at  Boonsborough. 

On  the  8ih,  the  Indian  army,  consisting  of  444  men, 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Duquesne,  and  eleven  oth¬ 
er  Frenchmen,  and  their  own  chiefs,  arrived  and  sum¬ 
moned  the  fort  to  surrender.  I  requested  two  days  con¬ 
sideration,  which  was  granted.  During  this  we  brought 
in  through  the  posterns  all  the  horses  and  other  cattle 
we  could  collect. 

On  the  9th,  in’ the  evening,  I  informed  their  command¬ 
er,  that  we  were  determined  to  defend  the  fort,  while  a 
man  was  living.  They  then  proposed  a  treaty,  and  said 
if  we  sent  out  nine  men  to  conclude  it,  they  would  with¬ 
draw.  The  treaty  was  held  within  si&sy  yards  of  the 
fort,  as  we  suspected  the  savages.  Tiie?  articles  were 
agreed  to  and  signed  ;  when  the  Indians  told  ns  it  was 


their  custom  for  two  Indians  to  shake  hands  with  every 
white  man  in  the  treaty,  as  an  evidence  of  friendship. 
We  agreed  to  this  also.  They  immediately  grappled  us 
to  take  us  prisoners,  but  we  cleared  ourselves  of  them, 
though  surrounded  by  hundreds,  and  gained  the  fort  safe, 
except  one  man  who  was  wounded  by  a  heavy  fire  from 
the  enemy. 

The  savages  began  now  to  undermine  the  fort,  begin¬ 
ning  at  the  water  mark  of  Kentucky  river,  which  is  60 
yards  from  the  foi  l ;  this  we  discovered  by  the  water  be¬ 
ing  made  muddy  by  the  clay — we  countermined  them  by 
cutting  a  trench  across  their  subterraneous  passage.  The 
enemy  discovering^this  by  the  clay  we  threw  out  of  the 
fort,  desisted.  On  the  20th  August  they  raised  the  siege, 
during  which  we  had  two  men  killed  and  four  wounded. 
We  iost  a  number  of  cattle.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was 
3 7  killed,  and  a  much  larger  number  wounded.  We 
picked  up  125ibs.  of  their  bullets,  besides  what  stuck  in 
the  logs  of  the  fort. 

In  July,  1779,  during  my  absence,  Col.  Bowman,  with 
160  men,  went  against  the  Shawanese  of  Old  Chelicothe. 
He  arrived  undiscovered,  a  battle  ensued,  which  lasted 
until  ten  in  the  morning,  when  Col.  Bowman  retreated 
30  miles.  The  Indians  collected  all  their  strength  and 
pursued  him,  when  another  engagement  ensued  for  two 
hours,  not  to  Col.  Bowman’s  advantage.  Col.  Harroo 
proposed  to  mount  a  number  cf  horse  and  break  the  en. 
eroy's  line,  who  at  this  time  fought  with  remarkable  fury. 
This  desperate  measure  had  a  happy  effect,  and  the  sav¬ 
ages  fled  on  all  sides.  In  these  two  engagements  we 
had  nine  men  killed  and  one  wounded.  Enemy's  loss 
uncertain,  only  two  scalps  were  taken. 

June  22d,  1780,  5C0  Indians  and  Canadians  under  Col. 
Biro,  attacked  Riddle’s  and  Martin’s  station,  and  the 
Forks  of  Licking  river,  with  six  pieces  of  urtiilefy  *  they 


took  all  the  inhabitants  captives,  and  killed  one  man  and 
two  women,  loaded  the  others  with  the  heavy  baggage? 
and  such  as  failed  in  the  journey  were  tomahawked. 

The  hostile  disposition  of  the  savages,  caused  General 
Clark,  the  commandant  at  the  falls  of  Ohio,  to  march 
with  his  regiment  and  the  armed  force  of  the  country 
against  Peccuway,  the  principal  town  of  the  Shawanese, 
on  a  branch  of  the  great  Miami,  which  he  attacked  with 
great  success,  took  seventy  scalps,  and  reduced  the  town 
to  ashes,  with  the  loss  of  seventeen  men. 

About  this  time  I  returned  to  Kentucky  with  my  fami¬ 
ly ;  for  during  my  captivity,  my  wife,  thinking  me  kil¬ 
led  by  the  Indians,  had  transported  family  and  goods 
on  horses  through  the  wilderness,  amidst  many  dangers, 
to  her  father’s  house  ip  North -Carolina. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1780,  soon  after  my  settling 
again  at  Boonsborough,  I  went  with  my  brother  to  the 
Blue  Licks,  and  on  our  return,  he  was  shot  by  a  party 
of  Indians,  they  followed  me  by  scent  of  a  dog,  which  I 
shot  .and  escaped.  The  severity  of  the  winter  caused 
great  distress  in  Kentucky,  the  enemy  during  the  sum¬ 
mer  having  destroyed  most  of  the  corn.  The  inhabi¬ 
tants  lived  chiefly  on  Buffdloe’s  flesh. 

In  spring,  1782,  the  Indians  harrassed  us.  In  May, 
they  ravished,  killed  and  scalped  a  woman  and  her  two 
daughters  near  Ashton’s  station,  and  took  a  negro  pris¬ 
oner.  Capt.  Ashton  pursued  theip  %^th  25  men,  and 
in  an  engagement  which  lasted  two  hours,  his  party  were 
obliged  to  retreat,  having  8  killed  and  4  mortally  wound¬ 
ed  ;  their  brave  commander  fell  in  the  action. 

August,  10th,  two  boys  were  carried  off  from  Major 
Hoy’s  station — Capt.  Holder  pursued  the  enemy  with 
17  men,  who  were  also  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  7  kil¬ 
led  and  2  wounded.  Our  affairs  became  more  and  more 
alarming.  The  savages  infested  the  country  and  dt> 


stroyed  the  whites  as  opportunity  presented.  In  a  field 
near  Lexingon,  an  Indian  shot  a  man  and  running  to 
scalp  him,  was  himself  shot  from  the  fort  and  fell  dead 
upon  ’he  enemy.  All  the  Indian  nations  were  now  uni* 
ted  against  us. 

August  15th,  500  Indians  and  Canadians  came  against 
Briat’s  station,  five  miles  from  Lexington,  they  as¬ 
saulted  the  fort  and  killed  all  the  cattle  round  it ;  but  be¬ 
ing  repulsed  they  retired  the  third  day,  having  about  80 
killed,  their  wounded  uncertain.  The  garrison  had  4 
killtd  and  9  wounded. 

August  18th,  Colonels  Todd  and  Trigg,  Major  Har- 
iand  and  myself,'  speedily  collected  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  men,  well  armed,  and  pursued  the  savages. 
They  had  marched  beyond  the  Blue  Licks,  to  a  remark¬ 
able  bend  of  the  main  fork  of  Licking  River,  about  43 
miles  from  Lexington,  where  we  overtook  them  on  the 
19th.  The  savages  observing  us,  gave  way,  and  we  ig¬ 
norant  of  their  numbers,  passed  the  river.  When  they 
saw  our  proceedings  (having  greatly  the  advantage  in 
situation)  they  formed  their  line  of  battle  from  one  end 
of  the  Licking  to  the  other,  about  a  mile  from  the  Blue 
Licks.  The  engagement  was  close  and  warm  for  about 
fifteen  minutes,  when  we,  being  overpowered  by  num¬ 
bers,  were  obliged  to  retreat,  with  the  loss  of  6 7  men, 
7  of  whom  were  taken  prisoners,  The  brave  and  much 
lamented  Colonels  Todd  and  Trigg,  Major  Harland, 
and  my  second  son,  were  among  the  dead.  We  were 
afterwards  informed,  that  the  Indians,  on  numbering 

their  dead,  finding  that  they  had  four  more  killed  than 

* 

we,  four  of  our  people  they  had  taken  were  given  up  to 
their  young  warriors,  to  be  put  to  death  after  their  bar¬ 
barous  manner. 

On  our  retreat  we  were  met  by  Col.  Logan,  who  was 
hastening  to  join  us,  with  a  number  of  well  armed  mem 


This  powerful  assistance  we  wanted  on  the  day  of  battle. 
The  enemy  said  one  more  fire  from  us  would  have  made 
them  give  way. 

I  cannot  reflect  upon  this  dreadful  scene,  without  great 
sorrow.  A  zeal  for  the  defence  of  their  country  led  these 
heroes  to  the  scene  of  action,  though  with  a  few  men,  to 
attack  a  powerful  army  of  experienced  warriors.  When 
we  gave  way,  they  pursued  us  with  the  utmost  eagerness, 
and  in  every  quarter  spread  destruction.  The  river  was 
difficult  to  cross,  and  many  were  killed  in  the  flight,  some 
just  entering  the  river,  somd  in  the  water,  others  alter 
crossing  in  ascending  the  cliffs.  Some  escaped  on  horse¬ 
back,  a  few  on  foot  ;  and  being  dispersed  every  where, 
in  a  few  hours,  brought  the  melancholy  news  of  this  un¬ 
fortunate  battle  to  Lexington.  Many  widows  were  now 
made.  The  reader  may  guess  what  sorrow  fiiled  the 
hearts  of  the  inhabitants,  exceeding  any  thing  that  I  am 
able  to  describe.  Being  reinforced,  we  returned  to  bury 
the  dead,  and  found  their  bodies  strewed  every  where, 
cut  and  mangled  in  a  dreadful  manner.  This  mournful 
scene  exhibited  a  horror  almost  unparalleled  ;  some  torn 
and  eaten  by  wild  beasts  ;  those  in  the  river  eaten  by 
fishes  ;  all  in  such  a  putrid  condition,  that  no  one  could 
be  distinguished  from  another. 

When  General  Clark,  at  the  falls  of  Ohio,  heal'd  of 
our  disaster,  he  ordered  an  expedition  to  pursue  the  sav¬ 
ages,  we  overtook  them  within  two  miles  of  their  towns, 
and  we  should  have  obtained  a  great  victory,  had  not 
some  of  them  met  us  when  about  two  hundred  poles 
from  their  camp.  The  savages  fled  in  the  utmost  disor¬ 
der,  and  evaluated  all  their  towns.  We  burned  to  a°Tes 

i 

Old  Chelicothe,  Peccaway,  New  Cheiicothe,  and  Wills- 
Tovvn  ;  entirely  destroyed  their  corn  and  other  fruits  ; 
and  spread  desolation  through  their  country.  We  look 
seven  prisoners  and  fifteen  scalps,  and  lost  only  four 


iben,  two  of  whom  were  accidentally  killed  by  ourselveso 
This  campaign  damped  the  enemy,  yet  they  made  se¬ 
cret  incursions. 

In  October  a  party  attacked  Crab  Orchard,  and  one  of 
them  being  a  good  way  before  the  others,  boldly  entered 
a  house,  in  which  were  only  a  woman  and  her  children, 
and  a  negro  man.  The  savage  used  no  violence,  but.at- 
tempted  to  carry  off  the  negro,  who  happily  proved  too 
strong  for  him,  and  threw  him  on  the  ground,  and  in  the 
struggle  the  woman  cut  off  his  head  with  an  axe — whilst 
her  little  daughter  shut  the  door.  The  savages  instantly 
came  up  and  applied  their  tomahawks  to  the  door,  when 
the  mother  putting  an  old  rusty  gun  barrel  through  a 
crevice,  the  savages  immediately  went  off. 

From  that  time  till  the  happy  return  of  peace  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  the  Indians  did  us 
no  mischief.  Soon  after  this  the  Indians  desired  peace. 

Two  darling  sons  and  a  brother  I  have  lost  by  savage 
hands,  which  have  also  taken  from  me  40  valuable  horses, 
and  abundance  of  cattle.  Many  dark  and  sleepless 
nights  have  I  spent,  separated  from  the  cheerful  society 
of  men,  scorched  by  the  summer's  sun,  and  pinched  by 
the  winter's  cold,  an  instrument  ordained  to  settle  th£ 
wilderness. 

DANIEL  BOON. 

Fayette  County ,  Kentucky, 

CHAP.  VIII. 

EXPEDITION  and  DEFEAT  op  Gen.  MAUMEE, 
b r  t’he  INDIANS ,  1790. 


ALTHOUGH  a  peace  was  happily  effected  be» 
tween  the  two  contending  parties,  Great-Britain  and  Af 


—129— 


merica,  in  1783,  yet  the  Savages,  who  had  been  per¬ 
suaded  to  take  a  part  with  the  former  were  unwilling  to 
bury  the  bloody  hatchet — they  had  not  sufficiently  bath¬ 
ed  that  destructive  weapon  in  the  blood  of  the  Ameri¬ 
cans— without  any  pretext  whatever,  they  continued  to 
exercise  toward  them  the  most  wanton  acts  of  barbarity. 
It  appeared  from  respectable  evidence,  that  from  the 
year  1783,  until  the  month  of  October  1790,  the  time 
the  United  States  commenced  offensive  operations  a- 
p-ainst  the  said  Indians,  that  on  the  Ohio,  and  the  fron- 
tiers  on  the  south -side  thereof,  they  killed,  wounded  and 
took  prisoners,  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  men, 
women  and  children,  besides  carrying  off  upwards  of  two 
thousand  horses,  and  other  property  to  the  amount  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  particulars  of  many  of  the  instances  of  barbarity 
exercised  upon  the  prisoners,  of  different  ages,  and  sexes, 
although  supported  by  indisputable  evidence,  are  of  too 
shocking  a  nature  to  be  presented  to  the  public— it  is 
sufficient  here  to  observe  that  the  scalping  knife  and  toma¬ 
hawk,  were  the  mildest  instruments  of  death.  That  in 
some  cases  torture  by  fire,,  and  other  execrable  means 
were  used. 

But  the  outrages  which  were  committed  upon  the 
frontier  inhabitants,  were  not  the  only  injuries  that  were 
sustained  ;  repeated  attacks  upon  detachments  of  the 
troops' of  the  United  States,  were  at  different  times  made. 
The  following  from  its  peculiar  enormity  deserves  reci¬ 
tal. —In  April  1790,  Maj.  Doughty  (in  service  of  the 
United  States)  was  ordered  to  the  friendly  Chicasaws  on 
public  business.  He  performed  this  duty  in  a  boat,  hav¬ 
ing  with  him  a  party  of  fifteen  men.  While  ascending 
the  Tetmesee  river,  he  was  met  by  a  party  of  forty  In¬ 
dians,  in  four  canoes,  consisting  principally  of  Shavva- 

hese  and  out-cast  Cherokees.— They  aporoached  under 

R 


a  white  flag,  the  well  known  emblem  of  peace.  Thef 
came  on  board  the  Major’s  boat,  received  his  presents* 
continued  with  him  nearly  an  hour,  and  then  departed  in 
the  most  friendly  manner,— But,  they  had  scarcely  clear, 
ed  his  oars  before  they  poured  in  a  fire  upon  his  crew, 
which  was  returned  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  per¬ 
mit,  and  a  most  unequal  combat  was  sustained  for  several 
hours,  when  they  abandoned  their  design,  but  not  until 
they  had  killed  and  wounded  eleven  out  of  fifteen  of  the 
boat’s  crew.  * 

Al!  overtures  of  peace  failing,  and  the  depredations 
still  continuing,  an  attempt  at  coercion  became  indispen¬ 
sable;  accordingly,  on  the  50th  September,  1790,  the 
President,  by  and  with  the  consent  and  advice  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  dispatched  Gen.  Harmer, 
with  320  Federal  troops  and  1 133  militia,  under  his  com¬ 
mand,  to  attack  and  destroy  their  principal  villages; 

The  troops  after  seventeen  days  march  from  Miami, 
reached  the  great  Miami  village,  without  any  other  mo¬ 
lestation  than  that  of  having  a  number  of  their  pack 
horses  stolen.  On  their  arrival  they  found  the  village 
deserted,  and  all  the  valuable  buildings  in  flames,  set  on 
fire  by  the  Indians.  After  a  short  tarry,  they  proceeded 
to  the  neighbouring  villages,  without  molestation,  and 
destroyed  five  of  them,  and  a  large  quantity  of  corn, 
computed  at  fifteen  thousand  bushels,  which  they  found 
buried  in  different  places  ;  and  very  large  quantities  of 
vegetables  of  every  kind. 

The  first  opposition  that  was  met  with,  a  party  of  about 
150  Kentucky  militia,  and  30  regular  troops,  all  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Harding,  of  Kentucky,  were  de¬ 
tached  from  the  main  body  lying  in  the  great  Miami  vil¬ 
lage,  to  pursue  the  trail  of  a  party  of  Indians,  which  had 
the  d;>y  before  been  discovered.  After  a  pursuit  of  about 
six  miles,  they  came  up  with,  and  were  attacked  on  stir. 


prize  by  a  body  of  Indians,  who  were  concealed  in  the 
thickets  on  every  side  of  a  large  plain  ;  and  on  the  first 
onset  the  militia  without  exchanging  a  single  shot,  made 
a  most  precipitate  retreat  and  left  the  regular  troops  to 
stand  the  whole  charge  of  the  Indians  ;  the  conflict  was 
short  and  bloody,  the  troops  were  soon  overpowered  by 
numbers,  and  all  fell  except  two  officers,  and  two  or  three 
privates,  after  defending  themselves  at  their  bayonet 
points,  with  the  greatest  passible  obstinacy.  Ensign 
Hartshorn  was  one  of  the  officers  who  providentially 
escaped,  and  his  escape  appeared  to  depend  more  on  a 
lucky  circumstance  of  faltering  over  a  log  in  his  retreat, 
and  by  that  means  screening  himself  irom  the  eye  of  his 
pursuers,  than  from  any  other  circumstance.  Capt. 
Armstrong,  who  commanded  the  party,  likewise  made 
his  escape,  by  plunging  himself  into  a  pond  or  swamp  up 
to  his  neck,  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  field  of  ac¬ 
tion,  where  he  remained  the  whole  night  a  spectator  to 
the  horrid  scene  of  the  war  dance  performed  over  the 
dead  and  wounded  bodies  of  the  poor  soldiers  that  had 
fallen  the  preceding  day  ;  where  their  shrieks,  mixed 
with  the  horrid  yells  of  the  savages,  rendered  his  situa¬ 
tion  shocking. 

After  this,  some  few  skirmishes  succeeded,  but  noth* 
ing  material,  until  the  second  capital  action,  which  hap¬ 
pened  two  days  after  the  army  left  the  Miami  village — » 
at  ten  miles  distance  from  the  town,  the  General  order¬ 
ed  a  halt,  and  detached  from  four  to  five  hundred  mili¬ 
tia,  and  about  sixty  regular  soldiers,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Wyllys  and  Colonel  Harding,  who  were  or¬ 
dered  to  march  back  to  the  town.  On  their  first  entrance 
there  appeared  a  small  body  of  Indians,  who  immediate¬ 
ly  fled  at  the  first  onset,  and  by  that  means  decoyed  the 
whole  body  of  the  militia,  by  making  their  flight  in  dif¬ 
ferent  directions,  and  encouraging  the  militia  to  pursue  * 


jby  this  stratagem  the  few  regular  troops  were  left  alon$? 
and  the  Indians  had  effected  their  design,  for  the  moment 
they  found  the  small  handful  of  regular  troops  detached 
from  the  main  body  of  the  militia,  they  commenced  the 
attack  with  their  whole  force,  excepting  the  flying  par¬ 
ties  that  had  diverted  the  militia ;  and  although  they 
soon  found  some  part  of  the  militia  returning  on  their 
backs,  pursued  their  object  of  routing  and  destroying  the 
troops,  as  the  only  sure  plan  of  success  ;  which  after  a 
most  bloody  conflict  on  each  side,  they  effected. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  intrepidity  of  the  savages  on 
this  occasion ;  the  militia  they  appeared  to  despise,  and 
with  all  the  undauntedness  conceivable,  thievv  down  their 
guns,  and  rushed  upon  the  bayonets  of  the  regular  sol¬ 
diers  ;  a  number  of  them  fell,  but  being  so  far  superior 
in  numbers,  the  regulars  were  soon  overpowered,  for 
while  the  poor  soldier  had  his  bayonet  in  one  Indian,  two 
more  would  sink  their  tomahawks  in  his  head.  The  de¬ 
feat  of  the  troops  was  complete,  the  dead  and  wounded 
were  left  on  the  field  of  action,  in  possession  of  the  savages. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  official  return  of  the  kil¬ 
led  and  wounded  in  the  expedition  ; — 

Killed  of  the  Federal  Troops . 

1  Major,  1  Lieutenant,  73  rank  and  file— total  75,— — 

♦  *  ’ 

Wounded— 3  rank  and  file. 

Killed  of  the  Militia . 

I  Major,  3  Captains,  2  Lieutenants,  4  Ensigns,  98 

rank  and  file — total  108 - Wounded — 2  Lieutenants,  1 

Ensign,  25  rank  and  file — total — 28. 

The  regular  troops  all  to  nine,  including  two  commis¬ 
sioned  officers,  were  killed—  among  the  slain  was  Major 
Wyllys,  and  a  number  of  brave  and  valuable  soldiers. 
1  he  Indians,  it  appeared,  from  some  cause,  did  not  think 
'ft  prudent  to  pursue  their  successes  from  the  field  of  ac~ 


lion,  as  most  of  the  troops  that  were  not  killed  or  badly 
wounded*  made  their  escape,  which  they  could  not  have 
effected  had  the  enemy  pursued  with  their  usual  fury. 


CHAP.  IX. 

EXPEDITIONS  OF  GENERALS  SCOTT  AND 

WILKINSON, 
in  Mat  and  August’)  1791. 

Gen.  SCOTT  to  the  SECRETARY  of  WAR. 


SIR) 

“  IN  prosecution  of  the  enterprise,  I  marched 
(with  850  troops  under  my  command)  four  miles  from 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio  on  the  23d  May,  and  on  the  24th 
I  resumed  my  march,  and  pushed  forward  with  the  ut¬ 
most  industry,  directing  my  route  to  Ouiattannan,  in  the 
best  manner  my  guides  and  information  enabled  me, 
though  I  found  'myself  greatly  deficient  in  both. 

(i  By  the  31st,  I  had  marched  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  miles,  over  a  country  cut  by  four  large  branches  of 
White  River,  and  many  smaller  streams  with  steep  mud¬ 
dy  banks  :  During  this  march,  I  traversed  a  country  al¬ 
ternately  interspersed  with  the  most  luxuriant  soil,  and 
deep  clayey  bogs  from  one  to  five  miles  wide,  rendered 
almost  impervious  by  brush  and  briars.  Rain  fell  in  tor¬ 
rents  every  day,  with  frequent  blasts  of  wind  and  thunder 
storms.  These  obstacles  impeded  my  pregress,  wore 
down  my  horses,  and  destroyed  my  provisions. 

“  On  the  morning  of  the  1st  instant  as  the  enemy  enter¬ 
ed  an  extensive  praire,  I  perceived  an  Indian  on  horse¬ 
back  a  few  miles  to  the  right  :  I  immediately  made  a  dp- 


— 134~ 

£achment  to  intercept  him,  but  he  escaped.  Finding 
myself  discovered,  I  determined  to  advance  with  all  the 
rapidity  my  circumstances  would  permit,  rather  with  the 
Jiope  than  the  expectation  of  reaching  the  object  sought 
that  day  ;  for  my  guides  were  strangers  to  the  country 
which  I  occupied.  At  1  o’clock,  having  marched  by 
computation  one  hundred  and  fifty  five  miles  from  the 
Ohio,  as  I  penetrated  a  grove  which  bordered  on  an  ex¬ 
tensive  prarie,  I  discovered  two  small  villages  to  my  left, 
pt  two  and  four  miles  distance. 

My  guides  now  recognised  the  ground  and  informed 
me  that  the  main  town  was  four  or  five  miles  in  my  front? 
behind  a  point  of  wood  which  jutted  into  the  pairie.  I 
immediately  detached  Col.  John  Hardin,  with  60  mou li¬ 
ed  infantry,  and  a  troop  of  light  horse  under  Captain 
M‘Coy,  to  attack  the  villages  to  the  left,  and  moved  on 
briskly  with  my  main  body  in  order  of  battle  toward  the 
town  the  smoke  from  which  was  discernable.  My  guides 
were  deceived  with  respect  to  the  situation  of  the  town  > 
for  instead  of  standing  at  the  edge  of  the  plain  through 
which  I  marched,  I  found  in  the  low  ground  bordering 
on  the  Wabash,  on  turning  the  point  of  woods,  one  house 
presented  in  my  front.  Capt.  Price  was  ordered  to  as¬ 
sault  that  with  forty  naen.  He  executed  the  command 
with  great  gallantry,  and  killed  two  warriors. 

M  When  I  gained  the  summit  of  the  eminence  which 
overlooks  the  villages  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  I  dis¬ 
covered  the  enemy  in  great  confusion,  endeavoring  to 
make  their  escape  over  the  river  in  canoes.  I  .instantly 
ordered  Lieutenant  Colonel  Commandant  Wilkinson  to 
rush  forward  with  the  first  battalion  ;  the  order  was  exe¬ 
cuted  with  promtitude,  and  this  detachment  gained  the 
bank  of  the  river  just  as  the  rear  of  the  enemy  had  em¬ 
barked  :  And  regardless  of  a  brisk  fire  kept  up  from  a 
Kickapoo  town  on  the  opposite  bank,  they  in  a  few  min- 


—135— 

•  t 

tiles ,  by  a  well  directed  fire  from  their  rifles,  destroyed  all 
the  savages  with  which  five  canoes  were  crowded. 

“  The  enemy  still  kept  possession  of  the  Kickapoo 
town.  I  determined  to  dislodge  them,  and  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  ordered  captains  King’s  and  Logsdon’s  companies 
to  march  down  the  liver  below  the  town  and  cross  under 
the  conduct  of  Major  Barbee  :  Several  of  the  men 
swam  the  river,  and  others  passed  in  a  small  canoe.— 
This  movement  was  unobserved,  and  my  men  had  taken 
post  on  the  bank  before  they  were  discovered  by  the  ene¬ 
my  who  immediately  ahandoned  the  village.— About  this 
time  word  was  brought  me  that  Col.  Hardin  was  incum¬ 
bered  with  prisoners,  and  had  discovered  a  stronger  vil¬ 
lage  further  to  my  left,  than  those  I  had  observed,  which 
he  was  proceeding  to  attack.  I  immediately  detached 
Capt.  Brown  with  his  company  to  support  the  Colonel  $ 
but  the  distance  being  six  miles,  before  the  captain  ar¬ 
rived  the  business  was  done,  and  Col.  Hardin  joined  me 
little  before  sunset,  having  killed  six  warriors  and  taken 
fifty* two  prisoners.  Captain  Bull,  the  warrior  who  dis¬ 
covered  me  in  the  morning  had  gained  the  main  town 
and  given  the  alarm  a  short  time  before  me  ;  but  the  vil¬ 
lages  to  the  left  were  uninformed  of  my  approach  and 
had  no  retreat.  The  next  morning  I  determined  to  de¬ 
tach  my  Lieut.  Col.  Commandant  with  five  hundred  men, 
to  destroy  the  important  town  of  Kelhlipecanunk,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Eel  river,  eighteen  miles  from  my  camp,  and 
on  the  west  side  of  Wabash.  But  on  examination  I  dis¬ 
covered  my  men  and  horses  to  be  crippled  and  worn  down 
by  a  long  laborious  march,  and  the  active  exertions  of 
the  preceding  day  ;  that  three  hundred  and  sixty  men 
only  could  be  found  in  capacity  to  undertake  the  enter¬ 
prise,  and  they  prepared  to  march  on  foot. 

“  Col.  Wilkinson  marched  with  this  detachment  at 

half  after  five  in  the  evening}  and  returned  to  my  camp 


—  136— 

the  next  day  at  one  o’clock,  having  marched  thirty-six 
miles  in  twelve  hours,  and  destroyed  the  most  important 
settlement  of,  the  enemy  in  that  quarter  of  the  federal 
territory. 

“  The  following  is  Col.  Wilkinson’s  report  respect¬ 
ing  the  enterprise 

“  Sir — The  detachment  under  my  command,  destined 
to  attack  the  village  Kethlipecanunk,  was  put  in  motion 
at  half  after  5  o’clock  last  evening.  Knowing  that  an 
enemy  whose  chief  dependence  is  in  his  dexterity  as  a 
marksman,  and  alertness  in  covering  himself  behind 
trees,  stumps,  and  other  impediments  to  fair  sight, 
would  not  hazard  an  action  in  the  night,  I  determined  to 
push  my  march  until  I  approached  the  vicinity  of  the 
villages  where  I  knew  the  country  to  be  champaigne. 

I  gained  my  point  without  a  halt,  twenty  minutes  before 

I I  o’clock  ;  lay  upon  my  arms  until  4  o’clock,  and  half 
an  hour  after  assaulted  the  town  at  all  quarters.  The 
enemy  was  vigilent,  gave  way  on  my  approach,  and  in 
canoes  crossed  Eel  creek,  which  washed  the  northeast 
part  of  the  town. — That  creek  was  not  fordable.  My 
corps  dashed  forward  with  the  impetuosity  becoming 
volunteers,  and  were  saluted  by  the  enemy  with  a  brisk 
fire  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek.  Dauntless  they 
rushed  on  to  the  water’s  edge,  and  finding  the  river  im¬ 
passable,  returned  a  volley,  which  so  galled  and  discon¬ 
certed  their  antagonists,  that  they  threw  away  their  fire 
without  effect.  In  five  minutes  the  Indians  were  driven 
from  the  covering,  and  fied  with  precipitation.  I  have 
three  men  slightly  wounded.  At  half  past  five  the  town 
was  in  flames,  and  at  six  o’clock  I  commenced  my  re¬ 
treat. 

“  I  am  Sir,  Yours,  See. 

“JAJVIES  WILKINSON* 
Brigadier  General  Sco  rtf*’’ 


it  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kithlipecanunk  were 
French,  and  lived  in  a  state  of  civilization  ; — misunder¬ 
standing  the  object  of  a  white  flag,  which  appeared  on 
an  eminence  opposite  to  me  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first, 
I  liberated  an  aged  squaw,  and  sent  with  her  a  message 
to  the  savages,  that  if  they  would  come  in  and  surrender, 
their  towns  should  be  spared,  and  they  should  receive 
good  treatment.  [It  was  afterwards  found  that  this  white 
flag  was  not  intended  as  a  signal  of  parley,  but  was  placed 
there  to  mark  the  spot  where  a  person  of  distinction 
among  the  Indians,  who  had  died  some  time’  before,  was 
interred.]  On  the  4th,  I  determined  to  discharge  16  of 
the  vreakest  and  most  infirm  of  my  prisoners  with  a  talk 
to  the  Wabash  tribes,  a  copy  of  which  follows.  My  mo¬ 
tives  to  this  measure  were,  to  rid  the  army  of  a  heavy  in¬ 
cumbrance,  to  gratify  the  impulses  of  humanity,  to  in¬ 
crease  the  panick  my  operations  had  produced,  and  by 
distracting  the  council  of  the  enemy,  to  favour  the  views 
Of  government. 

“  On  the  same  day,  after  having  burned  the  towns 
and  adjacent  villages,  and  destroyed  the  growing  corn 
and  pulse,  I  began  my  march  for  the  rapids  of  Ohio, 
where  I  arrived  the  14th,  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man  by  the  enemy,  and  five  only  wounded,  having  killed 
thirty-two,  chiefly  warriors  of  size  and  figure,  and  taken 
fifty* eight  prisoners.9* 

7o  the  various  tribes  of  the  Peanhashaws ,  and  all  the  nations 

of  Red  People ,  living  on  the  waters  of  the  Wabash  River. 

{£  THE  Sovereign  Council  of  the  Thirteen  United 
States,  have  long  patiently  borne  your  depredations  a- 
gainst  their  settlements  on  this  side  of  the  great  moun¬ 
tains,  in  hope  that  you  would  see  your  error,  and  cor¬ 
rect  it,  by  entering  into  bonds  of  amity  and  lasting  peace. 
Moved  by  compassion,  and  pitying  your  misguided  coun¬ 
cils,  they  have  not  un frequently  addressed  you  on  this 


jeer,  bOt  without  effect.  At  length  their  patience  is  ex> 
hausted,  and  they  have  stretched  forth  the  arm  of  power 
against  you.  Their  mighty  sons  and  chief  warriors  have 
at  length  taken  up  the  hatchet,  they  have  penetrated  far 
into  your  country,  to  meet  your  warriors,  and  punish  them 
for  their  transgressions.  But  you  fled  before  them  and 
decline  the  battle,  leaving  your  wives  and  children  to  their 
mercy.  They  have  destroyed  your  old  town,  Quiattanau* 
and  the  neighbouring  villages,  and  have  taken  many  pri¬ 
soners.  Resting  here  two  days,  to  give  you  time  to  col¬ 
lect  your  strength,  they  have  proceeded  to  your  town  of 
Kethiipecanunk  ;  but  you  against  fled  before  them  ;  and 
that  great  town  has  been  destroyed.  After  giving  you 
this  evidence  cf  their  power,  they  have  stopped  their 
bands,  because  they  are  as  merciful  as  strong,  and  they 
again  indulge  the  hope,  that  you  will  come  to  a  sense  of 
your  true  interest,  and  determine  to  make  a  lasting  peace 
with  them  and  all  their  children  forever.  The  United 
States  have  no  desire  to  destroy  the  red  people,  al¬ 
though  they  have  the  power  to  doit ;  but  should  you  de¬ 
cline  this  invitation,  and  pursue  your  unprovoked  hostili¬ 
ties,  their  strength  will  again  be  exerted  against  you,  year 
warriors  will  be  slaughtered,  your  wives  and  children 
carried  into  captivity,  and  you  may  be  assured,  that  those 
who  escape  the  fury  of  our  mighty  chiefs,  shall  find  no 
resting  place  on  this  side  the  Great  Lakes;  The  war¬ 
riors  of  the  United  States  wish  not  to  distress  or  destroy 
women  and  children,  or  old  men,  and  although  policy  ob¬ 
liges  them  to  retain  some  in  captivity,  yet  compassion 
and  humanity  have  induced  them  to  set  others  at  liberty, 
who  will  deliver  you  this  talk.  Those  who  are  carried 
off  will  be  left  in  the  care  of  our  great  chief  and  warrior 
Gen.  St.  Clair,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  and  Op¬ 
posite  to  the  Licking  River,  where  they  will  be  treated- 
with  humantiy  and  tenderness  $  if  you  wish  to  recover 


A 

them,  repair  to  that  place  by  the  first  clay  of  July  next : 
determine  with  true  hearts  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace,  they  will  then  be  restored  to  you,  and 
you  may  again  set  fjbwn  in  security  at  your  old  towns* 
and  live  in  peace  and  happiness,  unmolested  by  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  United  States,  who  will  become  your  friends 
and  protectors,  and  will  be  ready  to  furnish  you  with  all 
the  necessaries  you  may  require.  But  should  you  fool¬ 
ishly  persist  in  your  warfare,  the  sons  of  war  will  be  let 
joose  against  you,  and  the  hatchet  will  never  be  buried 
until  your  country  is  desolated,  and  your  people  humbled 
to  the  dust.” 

(Signed)  CHARLES  SCOTT,  Brig .  Gen,. 


GENERAL  WILKINSON’s  EXPEDITION. 


GENERAL  WILKINSON  to  GOVERNOR  ST .  CLAIR , 

Sir, 

HAVING  carried  into  complete  effect  the  enter- 
prize  which  you  were  pleased  to  direct  against  L’An- 
guille,  and  having  done  the  savages  every  other  damage 
on  the  Wabash,  to  which  I  conceived  my  force  adequate, 
I  embrace  the  first  moment’s  recess  from  active  duty  to 
detail  to  your  Excellency  the  operations  of  the  expedi¬ 
tion  intrusted  to  my  conduct. 

I  left  the  neighborhood  of  Fort- Washington  on  the 
first  inst.  at  one  o’clock,  and  agreeable  to  my  original 
plan,  feinted  boldly  at  the  Miami  villages,  by  the  most 
direct  course  the  nature  of  the  ground,  over  which  I 
had  to  march,  would  permit  j  I  persevered  in  this  plan 
until  the  morning  of  the  4th  inst.  and  thereby  avoided 
the  hunting  ground  of  the  enemy,  and  the  paths  which 
led  direct  from  White  River  to  the  Wabash,  leaving  th$ 


bead  waters  of  the  first  to  my  left ;  I  then  being  about 
seventy  miles  advanced  of  Fort  Washington,  turned 
north-west.  I  made  no  discovery  until  the  5th,  about  9 
o’clock,  A.  M.  when  I  crossed  three  much  frequented 
paths  within  two  miles  of  each  other,  and  all  bearing 
east  of  north  ;  my  guides  were  urgent  for  me  to  follow 
these  paths,  which  betrayed  their  ignorance  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  convinced  me  I  had  to  depend  on  my  own  judg¬ 
ment  only.  In  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  I  was  obliged 
to  cross  a  deep  bog,  which  injured  several  of  my  horses 
exceedingly,  and  a  few  miles  beyond  I  struck  a  path 
bearing  north  by  west,  marked  by  the  recent  footsteps  of 
five  or  six  savages.  My  guides  renewed  their  applica¬ 
tion  to  me  to  follow  this  path,  but  I  pursued  my  own 
course.  I  had  not  got  clear  of  my  encampment,  next 
morning,  before  my  advance  reported  an  impassable  bog, 
in  my  front,  extending  several  miles  on  either  hand,  and 
the  guides  asserted  that  the  whole  country  to  the  Wa¬ 
bash  was  cut  by  such  bogs,  and  that  it  would  be  impos¬ 
sible  for  me  to  proceed  unless  I  followed  the  Indian  paths, 
which  avoided  these  bogs,  or  led  through  them  at  places 
where  they  were  least  difficult.  Although  I  paid  little 
regard  to  this  information,  as  delay  was  dangerous,  and 
every  thing  depended  on  the  preservation  of  my  horses, 
I  determined  to  return  to  the  right,  and  fall  into  the  path 
I  had  passed  the  evening  before,  which  varied  in  its 
course  from  N  by  W.  to  N*  E.  The  country  had  now 
become  pondy,  in  every  direction,  I  therefore  resolved 
to  pursue  this  path  until  noon,  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
conduct  me  to  better  ground,  or  to  some  devious  trace 
Which  might  lead  to  the  object  sought. 

At  7  o’clock  I  crossed  an  east  branch  of  Calumut  riv¬ 
er,  about  40  yards  wide,  and  about  noon  my  advance 
guard  fired  on  a  small  party  of  warriors  and  took  a  pris¬ 
oner,  the  rest  run  off  to  the  eastward.  I  halted  about  a 


mile  beyond  the  spot  where  this  affair  happened,  and  o® 
examining  the  prisoner  found  him  to  be  a  Delaware,  .liv¬ 
ing  near  the  scite  of  the  late  Miami  village,  which  he 
informed  was  about  thirty  miles  distant  j  I  immediately 
fetrogaded  four  miles,  and  filed  off  by  the  right  over 
some  rising  ground,  which  I  had  observed  between  the 
east  branch  of  the  Calumut  river  and  a  creek  four  or  five 
miles  advahCe  of  it,  taking  my  course  N.  60  W.  This 
pleasure  fortunately  extricated  me  from  the  bogs  and 
ponds,  and  soon  placed  me  on  firm  ground  ;  late  in  the 
afternoon  I  crossed  one  path  running  from  N.  to  S,  and 
shortly  after  fell  in  with  another  varying  from  N.  W.  to 
N.  I  pursued  this  about  two  miles,  when  I  encamped— 
but  finding  it  still  inclining  northward,  X  determined  to 
abandon  it  in  the  morning.  I  resumed  my  march  ort 
the  6th  at  4  o’clock,  the  Calumet  being  to  the  westward 
of  me  I  was  fearful  I  should  strike  the  Wabash  too  high 
up,  and ‘perhaps  fall  in  with  the  small  town,  which  you 
mentioned  to  me  at  the  mouth  of  the  former  river.  I 
therefore  steered  a  due  west  course,  and  at  6  o’clock  A. 
M.  crossed  a  road  much  used  both  by  horse  and  foot, 
hearing  due  north.  I  now  knew  that  I  was  near  a  Shaw- 
anese  village,  generally  supposed  to  be  on  the  waters  of 
White  river,  but  actually  on  the  waters  of  the  Calumet, 
and  was  sensible  that  every  thing  depended  on  the  ce¬ 
lerity  and  silence  of  my  movements,  as  my  real  object 
had  become  manifest,  I  therefore  pushed  my  march  vig¬ 
orously,  leaving  an  officer  and  20  men  in  ambush  to 
watch  the  road,  in  order  to  intercept  or  beat  off  any  par¬ 
ty  of  the  enemy  which  might  casually  be  passing  that 
way,  and  thereby  prevent  as  long  as  possible  the  discov 
ery  of  my  real  intentions. 

At  3  o’clock  I  crossed  Calumet  river,  now  80  yards 
wide,  and  running  down  N.  N.  W.  I  was  now  sensible 
iYom  my  reckoning  compared  with  my  own  observations, 


during  the  late  expedition  under  Gen:  Scott*  and  the 
information  received  from  your  Excellency  and  others, 
that  I  could  not  be  very  far  from  I/Anguiiie.  The  par¬ 
ty  left  at  the  road,  soon  fell  in  with  four  warriors  en¬ 
camped  half  a  mile  from  the  right  of  my  line  of  march, 
killed  one  and  drove  off  the  others  to  the  northward, 
^ly  situation  had  now  become  extremely  critical,  the 
Whole  country  to  the  north  being  in  alarm,  which  made 
me  greatly  anxious  to  continue  my  march  during  the 
night,  but  I  had  no  path  to  direct  me,  and  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  for  me  to  keep  my  course,  or  for  horsemen  to  march 
through  a  thick  swampy  country  in  utter  darkness.  I 
quitted  my  camp  on  the  7th,  as  soon  as  I  could  see  my 
wav,  crossed  one  path  at  three  miles  distance,  bearing 
N.  E.  and  at  seven  miles  fell  into  another  very  much 
used,  bearing  N.  W.  by  N.  which  I  at  once  adopted*  as 
the  direct  rout  to  my  object,  and  pushed  forward  with 
the  utmost  despatch.  I  halted  at  12  o’clock  to  refresh 
the  horses,  and  examine  the  men’s  arms  and  ammuni¬ 
tion  ;  marched  again  at  half  after  one,  and  at  15  min¬ 
utes  before  five  I  struck  the  Wabash,  at  one  and  an 
half  leagues  above  the  mouth  of  Eel  river,  being  the 
■very  spot  for  which  I  had  aimed  from  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  my  march,  I  crossed  the  river  and  following 
the  path  a  N.  by  E.  course,  at  the  distance  of  two  and 
an  half  miles,  my  reconnoitreing  party  announced  Eel 
river  in  front,  and  the  town  on  the  opposite  bank.  I 
dismounted,  ran  forward,  and  examined  the  situation  of 
the  town  as  far  as  was  practicable  without  exposing  my¬ 
self,  but  the  whole  face  of  the  country  from  the  Wabash 
to  the  margin  of  Eel  river,  being  a  continued  thicket  of 
brambles,  black  jacks,  weeds  and  shrubs,  of  various 
kinds,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  get  a  satisfactory  view 
without  endangering  a  discovery.  I  immediately  deter¬ 
mined  to  post  two  companies  near  the  bank  of  the  rives* 


—  143 


opposite  to  the  town,  and  above  the  ground  I  then  occu¬ 
pied  to  make  a  detour  with  Major  Caldwell,  and  the 
second  battalion,  until  I  fell  into  the  Miami  trace,  and 
by  that  route  to  cross  the  river  above,  and  gain  the  rear 
of  the  town,  and  to  leave  directions  with  Maj.  M’Dowell, 
who  commanded  the  first  battalion,  to  lie  perdue  until  I 
commenced  the  attack,  then  to  dash  through  the  river 
•With  his  corps  and  the  advanced  guard,  and  assault  the 
houses  in  front  and  upon  the  left. 

In  the  moment  I  was  about  to  put  this  arrangement  in^ 
to  execution,  word  was  brought  me  that  the  enemy  had 
taken  the  alarm  and  were  flying.— I  instantly  ordered  a 
general  charge,  which  was  obeyed  with  alacrity,  the  men 
forcing  their  way  over  every  obstacle,  plunged  through 
the  river  with  vast  intrepidity.— The  enemy  was  unable 
to  make  the  smallest  resistance. — 'Six  warriors  and  (in 
the  hurry  and  confusion  of  the  charge)  two  squaws  and 
a  child  were  killed- — thirty-four  prisoners  were  taken,  and 
an  unfortunate  captive  released — with  the  loss  of  two 
men  killed,  and  one  wounded. — I  found  this  town  scatter¬ 
ed  along  Eel  river  for  full  three  miles,  on  an  uneven 
shrubby  oak  barren,  intersected  alternately  by  bogs  al# 
most  impassable,  and  impervious  thickets  ol  plumb  and 
hazie. — Notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  if  I  may  credit 
the  report  of  the  prisoners,  very  few  who  were  in  town 
escaped  ;  expecting  a  second  expedition,  their  goods  were 
generally  packed  up  or  buried. — Sixty  warriors  had  cros¬ 
sed  the  Wabash  to  watch  the  paths  leading  from  the 
Ohio  ;  the  head  chief  with  all  the  prisoners  and  a  num¬ 
ber  of  families  were  out,  digging  a  root,  which  they  sub¬ 
stitute  in  the  place  of  the  potatoe,  and  about  one  hour 
before  my  arrival,  all  the  warriors,  except  eight,  bad 
mounted  their  horses  and  rode  up  the  river  to  a  French 
store  to  purchase  ammunition. — This  ammunition  had 
arrived  from  the  Miami  village  that  very  day,  and  the 


$qhaws  informed  me  was  stored  about  two  miles  frofts 
town;  I  detached  Major  Caldwell  in  quest  of  it,  but 
he  failed  to  make  any  discovery,  although  he  scoured  the 
country  for  seven  or  eight  miles  up  the  river.  I  encamp¬ 
ed  in  the  town  that  night,  and  the  next  morning  I  cut  up 
the  corn  scarcely  in  the  milk,  burnt  the  cabins,  mounted 
my  young  warriors,  squaws  and  children  in  the  best  man¬ 
ner  in  my  power,  and  leaving  two  infirm  squaws  and  a 
child  with  a  short  talk  (which  will  be  found  annexed)  I 
commenced  my  march  for  the  Kickapoo  town  in  the 
praire.—  I  felt  my  prisoners  a  vast  incumbrance,  but  I 
was  not  in  force  to  justify  a  detachment,  having  barely 
523  rank  and  file,  and  being  then  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Ouiattanou  country,  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  re¬ 
moved  from  succour,  and  not  more  than  one  and  a  half 
days  forced  march  from  the  Pattawamees,  Shawanese 
and  Delawares. 

Not  being  able  to  discover  any  path  in  the  direct  course 
to  the  Kickapoo  town,  I  marched  by  the  road  leadiug  to 
Tippecanoe,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some  diverging  trace 
which  might  favour  my  design.- — I  encamped  that  even¬ 
ting  about  six  miles  from  Kenapacomaque,  the  Indian 
name  for  the  town  I  had  destroyed,  and  marched  next 
morning  at  four  o’clock. — My  course  continued  west  jtill 
about  nine  o’clock,  when  I  turned  to  the  north  west  on  a 
small  bunting  path,  and  at  a  short  distance  I  launched 
into  the  boundless  prat  ies  of  the  west,  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  to  pursue  that  course,  until  I  should  strike  a  road 
which  leads  from  the.  Pattawamees  of  Lake  Michigan, 
immediately  to  the  town  I  sought.  With  this  view  I 
pushed  forward,  through  bog  after  bog,  to  the  saddle 
skirts  in  mud  and  water,  and  after  persevering  for  eight 
hours,  I  found  myself  environed  on  all  sides  with  mo¬ 
rasses  which  forbade  my  advancing,  and  at  the  same 
time  rewired  it  difficult  for  me  to  extricate  my  little 


iny.  The  way  by  which  we  had  entered  was  so  muctt 
beat  and  softened  by  the  horses,  that  it  was  almost  im¬ 
possible  toreturn  by  that  route,  and  my  guides  pronoun¬ 
ced  the  morass  in  front  impassable. — A  chain  of  thin 
groves  extending  in  the  direction  to  the  Wabash,  at  this 
time  presented  to  my  left,  it  was  necessary  I  should  gain 
these  groves,  and  for  this  purpose  I  dismounted,  went 
forward,  and  leading  my  horse  through  a  bog  to  the  arm¬ 
pits  in  mud  and  water,  with  difficulty  and  fatigue  I  ac¬ 
complished  my  object,  and  changing  my  course  to  S.  by 
W.  I  regained  the  Tippecanoe  road  at  5  o’clock,  and 
encamped  on  it  at  7  o’clock,  after  a  march  of  thirty  miles, 
which  broke  down  several  of  my  horses. 

I  am  the  more  minute  in  detailing  the  occurrences  of 
this  day  because  they  produced  the  most  unfavourable 
effect.  I  was  in  motion  at  four  next  morning,  and  at 
eight  o’clock  my  advanced  guard  made  some  discoveries, 
which  induced  me  to  believe  we  were  near  an  Indian  vil¬ 
lage.  I  immediately  pushed  that  body  forward  in  a  trot, 
and  followed  with  Major  Caldwell,  and  the  2nd  bat¬ 
talion,  leaving  Major  M’Dowell  to  take  charge  of  the 
prisoners.  I  reached  Tippecanoe  at  12  o’clock,  which 
had  been  occupied  by  the  enemy,  who  watched  my  mo¬ 
tions  and  abandoned  the  place  that  morning.  After  the 
destruction  of  this  town  in  June  last,  the  enemy  had  re¬ 
turned  and  cultivated  their  corn  and  pulse,  which  I  found 
in  high  perfection  and  in  much  greater  quantity  than  at 
L’Anguille.  To  refresh  my  horses  and  give  time  to  cut 
down  the  corn,  I  determined  to  halt  until  the  next  morn, 
ing,  and  then  resume  my  march  to  the  ICickapoo  town 
in  the  praire,  by  the  road  which  leads  from  Ouiattan- 
on  to  that  place.  In  the  course  of  the  day  I  had  dis¬ 
covered  some  murmUrings  and  discontent  among  the 
men,  which  I  found  bn  enquiry  to  proceed  from  their 

reluctance  to  advance  into  the  enemy’s  country  5  this 

T  * 


f  46'— 


induced  me  to  call  for  a  state  of  the  horses  and  pron* 
sions,  when  to  my  great  mortification  270  horses  were 
returned  lame  and  tired,  with  barely  five  clay's  provision 
for  the  men. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  was  compelled  to  aban¬ 
don  my  designs  upon  the  Kickapoos  of  the  praire,  and 
with  a  degree  of  anguish  not  to  be  comprehended  but 
by  those  who  have  experienced  similar  disappointments  ; 
1  marched  forward  to  a  town  of  the  same  nation,  situate 
about  three  leagues  west  of  Ouittanon— as  I  advanced 
to  the  town,  the  enemy  made  some  shew  of  fighting 
me,  but  vanished  at  my  approach.  I  destroyed  this 
town,  consisting  of  thirty  houses,  with  a  considerable 
quantity  of  corn  in  the  milk,  and  the  same  day  I  mov¬ 
ed  on  to  Ouiattanon,  where  I  forded  the  Wabash,  and 
proceeded  to  the  site  of  the  villages  on  the  margin  of 
the  praire,  where  I  encamped  at  seven  o’clock.  At  this 
town  and  the  villages  destroyed  by  Gen,  Scott  in  June, 
we  found  the  corn  had  been  re-planted,  and  was  now  in 
high  cultivation,  several  fields  being  well  ploughed,  all 
which  we  destroyed.  On  the  12th,  I  resumed  my  march, 
and  falling  into  Gen.  Scott’s  return  trace,  I  arrived 
without  material  accident  at  the  rapids  of  the  Ohio,  on 
the  21st  inst.  after  a  march,  by  accurate  computation,  of 
451  miles  from  Fort  Washington. 

The  services  which  I  have  been  able  to  render  fall 
short  of  my  wishes,  my  intention  and  expectation— but, 
Sir,  when  you  reflect  on  the  causes  which  checked  my 
career,  and  blasted  my  designs,  I  flatter  myself  you  will 
believe  every  thing  has  been  done  which  could  be  done  in 
my  circumstances  ;  I  have  destroyed  the  chief  town  of 
the  Ouiattanon  nation,  and  made  prisoners  the  sons  and 
sisters  of  the  king  ;  1  have  burnt  a  respectable  Kickapoo 
village,  and  cut  down  at  least  430  acres  of  corn,  chiefly 
in  the  milk.  The  Ouiattanons  left  without  horses,  home 


er  provision,  must  cease  to  war,  and  will  find  active 
employ  to  |pbsist  their  squaws  and  children  during  the 
impending  winter. 

Should  these  services  secure  to  the  country  which  I 
immediately  represented,  and  the  corps  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  command,  the  favorable  consideration  of  govern¬ 
ment,  I  shall  infer  the  approbation  of  my  own  conduct, 
which,  added  to  a  consciousness  of  having  done  my  duty, 
will  constitute  the  richest  reward  I  can  enjoy. 

With  the  most  perfect  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
your  Excellency’s  obedient  and  most  humble  servant: 

JAMES  WILKINSON-. 

Gov,  Sr,  Ci  a  is. 


A  Talk  from  Col ,  Wilkinson ,  to  the  Indian  Nations  living 

on  the  river  Wabash, 


THE  arms  of  the  United  States  are  again  ex¬ 
erted  against  you,  and  again  your  towns  are  in  flames, 
and  your  wives  and  children  made  captives— again  you 
are  cautioned  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  reason,  to  she  for 
peace,  and  submit  to  the  protection  of  the  United  States, 
who  are  willing  to  become  your  friends  and  fathers  ;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  are  determined  to  punish  you  for  every 
injury  you  may  offer  to  their  children.  Regard  not 
those  evil  counsellors,  who,  to  secure  to  themselves  the 
benefits  of  your  trade,  advise  you  to  measures  which  in¬ 
volve  you,  your  women  and  children,  in  trouble  and  dis¬ 
tress.  The  United  States  wish  to  give  yotf’peace  ;  be¬ 
cause  it  is  good  in  the  eyes  of  the  Great  Spirit,  that  all 
his  children  should  unite  and  live  like  brothers  ;  but  if 
you  foolishly  prefer  war,  their  warriors  are  ready  to  meet 
you  in  battle,  and  will  not  be  the  first  to  lay  down  the 
hatchet#  You  may  find  your  squaws  and  your  children 


pnder  the  protection  oF  our  great  chief  and  warrior 
General  St.Clair,  at  Fort  Washington  $  him  you 
will  make  all  applications,  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 
or  for  peace. 

JAMES  WILKINSON.*5 
- - — 

CHAP.  X. 

DEFEAT  OF  GENERAL  ST.  CLAIR, 

By  the  INDIANS — 1791. 

Gen.  ST.  CLAIR  to  the  SECRETARY  of  WAR. 

i 

C{  Fort  Washington ,  Nov.  9,  1791. 

“  S7if, 

“  YESTERDAY  afternoon  the  remains  of  the 
army  under  my  command  got  back  Jto  this  place,  and  I 
have  now  the  painful  task  to  give  an  account  of  a  warm, 
and  as  unfortunate  an  action  as  almost  any  that  has  been 
fought,  in  which  every  corps  was  engaged  and  worsted, 
except  the  first  regiment,  that  had  been  detached  upon  a 
service  I  had  the  honor  to  inform  you  of  in  my  last  des¬ 
patch,  and  had  not  joined  me. 

On  the' 3d  inst.  the  army  had  reached  a  creek  about 
twelve  yards  wide  running  to  the  southward  of  west, 
which  I  believe  to  have  been  the  river  St.  Mary,  that 
empties  into  the  Miami  of  the  lake,  arrived  at  the  village 
about  4  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  having  marched  near  9 
miles,  and  were  immediately  encamped  upon  a  very  com¬ 
manding  piece  of  ground  in  two  lines,  having  the  ^bove 
mentioned  creek  in  front,  the  right  wing  composed  of 
Butler's,  Clarke’s,  and  Patterson’s  battallions, cpm- 
rnanded  by  Major-General  Butler,  formed  the  first  line, 
ai&d  the  left  wing  consisting  of  Bedinger’s  and  Gai- 


?SER?s  battalions,  and  the  second  regiment  commanded 
by  Col.  Drake,  formed  the  second  line,  with  an  interval 
between  them  of  about  seventy  yards,  which  was  all  the 
ground  would  allow. 

The  right  flank  was  pretty  well  secured  by  the  creek,  a 
steep  bank,  and  Fa  lkener’s  corps,  some  of  the  cavalry 
and  their  piquets  covered  the  left  Sank  :  the  militia  were 
thrown  over  the  creek  and  advanced  about  one  quarter  of 
a  mile,  and  encamped  in  the  same  order  ;  there  were  a 
few  Indians  who  appeared  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
creek,  but,  fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation  on  the  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  militia  ;  at  this  place,  which  I  judged  to  be 
about  15  miles  from  the  Miami  village,  I  had  determined 
to  throw  up  a  slight  work,  the  plan  of  which  was  con¬ 
certed  that  evening  with  Maj.  Ferguson,  wherein  to 
have  deposited  the  men’s  knapsacks,  and  every  thing  else 
that  was  not  of  absolute  necessity,  and  to  have  moved  on 

to  attack  the  enemy  as  soon  as  the  first  regiment  was 

* 

come  up,  but  they  did  not  permit  me  to  execute  either  ; 
for  on  the  4th,  about  half  an  hour  before  sun-rise,  and 
when  the  men  had  been  just  dismissed  from  the  parade, 
(for  it  was  a  constant  practice  for  to  have  them  all  under 
arms  a  considerable  time  before  light,)  an  attack  was 
made  upon  the  militia  ;  those  gave  way  in  a  very  little 
time,  and  rushed  into  camp,  through  Maj,  Butler’s  bat¬ 
talion,  which,  together  with  part  of  Clark’s  they  threw 
into  considerable  disorder,  and  which  notwithstanding 
the  exertions  of  both  these  officers,  was  never  altogether 
remedied,  the  Indians  followed  close  at  their  heels  ;  the 
fire  however  of  the  front  line  checked  them,  but  almost 
instantaneously  a  very  heavy  attack  began  upon  that  line, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  extended  to  the  second  like¬ 
wise  ;  the  great  weight  of  it  was  directed  against  the 
centre  of  each,  where  the  artillery  was  placed,  and  from 
which  the  men  were  repeatedly  driven  with  great  slaugh- 


ter  ;  finding  no  great  effect  from  the  fire,  and  confusion 
beginning  to  spread  from  the  great  number  of  men  who 
were  fallen  in  all  quarters,  it  became  necessary  to  try 
what  could  be  done  by  the  bayonet. 

,  \ 

Lieut.  Col.  Darke,  was  accordingly  ordered  to  make 
a  charge,  with  a  part  of  the  second  line,  and  to  turn  the 
left  flank  of  the  enemy-  This  was  executed  with  great 
spirit.  The  Indians  instantly  gave  way,  and  were  driven 
back  three  or  four  hundred  yards  :  but  for  want  of  a  suf¬ 
ficient  number  of  riflemen  to  pursue  this  advantage,  they 
soon  returned  and  the  troops  were  obliged  to  give  back  in 
their  turn.  At  this  moment  they  had  entered  our  camp 
by  the  left  flank,  having  pursued  back  the  troops  that 
were  posted  there. 

Another  charge  was  made  here  by  the  second  regi¬ 
ment,  Butler's  and  Clark's  battallions,  with  equal 
effect,  and  it  was  repeated  several  times,  and  always  with 
success — but  in  all  of  them  many  men  were  lost,  and 
particularly  the  officers,  which,  with  some  raw  troops, 
was  a  loss  altogether  irremediable.  In  that  I  just  spoke 
of  made  by  the  second  regiment  and  Butler’s  battalion, 
Maj.  Butler  was  dangerously  wounded,  and  every  offi¬ 
cer  of  the  second  regiment  fell  except  three,  one  of  which, 
Capt.  Greaton,  was  shot  through  the  body. 

Our  artillery  being  now  silenced,  and  all  the  officers 
killed,  except  Capt.  Ford,  who  was  badly  wounded,  more 
than  half  of  the  army  fallen,  being  cut  off  from  the  road, 
it  became  necessary  to  attempt  the  regaining  it,  and  to 
make  a  retreat  if  possible.  To  this  purpose  the  remains 
of  the  army  was  formed  as  well  as  circumstances  would 
admit,  towards  the  right  of  the  encampment  ;  from 
which,  by  the  way  of  the  second  line,  another  charge  was 
made  upon  the  enemy,  as  if  with  the  design  to  turn  their 
right  flank — but  in  fact  to  gain  the  road  :  this  was  effect, 
ed  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  open,  the  militia  took  along  it? 


151 — 


followed  by  the  troops— Maj.  Clark  with  his  battalion 
severing  the  rear. 

The  retreat  in  those  circumstances,  was,  you  may  be 
sure  a  precipitate  one — it  was  in  fact  a  flight.  The  camp 
and  the  artillery  were  abandoned,  but  that  was  unavoida¬ 
ble,  for  not  a  horse  was  left  alive  to  have  drawn  it  off  had 
it  otherwise  been  practicable.  But  the  most  disgraceful 
part  of  the  business  is,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  men 
threw  away  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  even  after  the 
pursuit  (which  continued  about  four  miles)  had  ceased. 

I  found  the  road  strewed  with  them  for  many  miles, 
but  was  not  able  to  remedy  it  ;  for  having  had  all  my 
horses  killed,  and  being  mounted  upon  one  that  could 
not  be  pricked  out  of  a  walk,  I  could  not  get  forward 
myself,  and  the  orders  I  sent  forward,  either  to  halt  the 
front,  or  prevent  the  men  from  parting  with  their  arms, 
were  unattended  to. 

The  rout  continued  quite  to  Fort  Jefferson,  twenty- 
nine  miles,  which  was  reached  a  little  after  sun-setting. 
The  action  began  about  half  an  hour  before  sun-rise,  and 
the  retreat  was  attempted  at  half  an  hour  after  nine 

4 

o'clock. 

I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  returns  of  the  killed 
and  wounded  ;  but  Major  General  Butler,  Lieut.  Col. 
Oldham,  of  the  militia.  Major  Ferguson,  Major  Hart, 
and  Major  Clark>  are  among  the  former. 

I  have  now,  Sir,  finished  my  melancholy  tale— a  tale 
that  will  be  felt,  sensibly  felt  by  every  one  that  has  sym¬ 
pathy  for  private  distress,  or  for  public  misfortune.  I 
have  nothing,  Sir,  to  say  to  the  charge  of  the  troops  but 
their  want  of  discipline,  which,  from  the  short  time  they 
had  been  in  service,  it  was  impossible  they  should  have 
.  acquired,  and  which  rendered  it  very  difficult,  when  they 
were  thrown  into  confusion,  to  reduce  them  again  to  or¬ 
der,  and  is  <?ne  reason  why  the  loss  has  fallen  so  heavy 


upon  the  officers,  who  did  every  thing  in  their  pbwer  i8 
effect  it. — Neither  were  my  own  exertions  wanting,  but 
worn  down  with  illness,  and  suffering  under  a  painful 
disease,  unable  either  to  mount  or  dismount  a  horse 
without  assistance,  they  were  not  so  great  as  they  other¬ 
wise  would,  or  perhaps  ought  to  have  been. 

We  were  overpowered  by  numbers  ;  but  it  is  no  mord 
than  justice  to  observe,  that  though  composed  of  so  ma¬ 
ny  different  species  of  troops,  the  utmost  harmony  pre¬ 
vailed  through  the  whole  army  during  the  campaign. 

At  Fort  Jefferson  1  found  the  first  regiment,  which 
had  returned  from  the  service  they  had  been  sent  upon, 
without  either  overtaking  the  deserters,  or  meeting  the 
convoy  of  provisions;  I  am  not  certain.  Sir,  whether  I 
ought  to  consider  the  absence  of  this  regiment  from  the 
field  of  action  as  fortunate  or  otherwise.  I  incline  to 
think  it  was  fortunate  ;  for  I  very  much  doubt,  whether, 
had  it  been  in  the  action,  the  fortune  of  the  day  had  been 
turned,  and  if  it  had  not,  the  triumph  of  the  enemy 
would  have  been  more  complete,  and  the  country  would 
have  been  destitute  of  every  means  of  defence. 

-  jf  .  * 

Taking  a  view  of  the  situation  of  our  broken  troops  at 
Fort  Jefferson,  and  that  there  was  no  provisions  in  the 
fort,  I  called  on  the  field  officers  for  their  advice  what 
would  be  proper  further  to  be  done  j  and  it  was  their 
unanimous  opinion,  that  the  addition  of  the  first  regi¬ 
ment  unbroken  as  it  was,  did  not  put  the  army  on  so  re¬ 
spectable  a  footing  as  it  was  in  the  morning,  because  a 
great  part  of  it  was  now  unarmed  :  that  it  had  been 
found  unequal  to  the  enemy,  and  should  they  come  on, 
which  was  probable,  would  be  found  so  again  ;  that  the 
troops  could  not  be  thrown  into  the  fort,  both  because  it 
was  too  small,  and  that  there  was  no  provision  in  it. 

That  provisions  were  known  to  be  upon  the  read  at 
the  distance  of  one  or  at  most  two  marches  j  that  thf 


fore  it  would  be  proper  to  move  without  loss  of  time  to 
meet  the  provisions,  when  the  men  might  have  the  soon¬ 
er  an  opportunity  of  some  refreshment,  and  that  a  prop¬ 
er  detachment  might  be  sent  back  with  it,  to  have  it 
safely  deposited  in  the  fort. 

This  advice  was  accepted,-  and  the  army  was  put  in 
motion  again  at  ten  o’clock,  and  marched  all  night,  and 
the  succeeding  day  met  with  a  quantity  of  four,  part  of 
it  was  distributed  immediately,  part  taken  back  to  sup- 
ply  the  army  on  the  march  to  Fort-Hamilton,  and  the 
remainder,  about  fifty  horse  loads  sent  forward  to  Fort 
Jefferson, 

I  have  said  Sir,  in  the  former  part  of  nYy  communica¬ 
tion,  that  we  were  overpowered  by  numbers;  of  that 
however,  I  have  no  other  evidence,  but  the  weight  of  the 
fire  which  was  always  a  most  deadly  one  and  generally 
delivered  from  the  ground,  few  of  the  enemy  shewing 
themselves  on  foot,  except  when  they  were  charged  and 
that  in  a  few  minutes  our  whole  camp  which  extended  a- 
bove  350  yards  in  length,  was  entirely  surrounded  and 
attacked  on  all  quarters. 

The  loss,  Sir,  the  public  has  sustained  by  the  fall  of 
so  many  officers,  particularly  General  Butler,  and  Ma¬ 
jor  Ferguson,  cannot  be  too,  much  regretted;  but  it  is 
a  circumstance  that  will  alleviate  the  misfortune  in  some 
measure,  that  all  of  them  fell  most  gallantly  doing  their 
duty.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient 
servant,  AUTHUR  ST.  CLAIR,” 

4t  Hon.  Secretary  of  Vfar.'* 


The  defeat  of  Gen.  St.  Clair  took  place  within  six 
miles  of  the  Miami  village.  The  loss  on  this  occasion 
was  about  six  hundred  killed  and  wounded  (said  to  be 

nearly  equal  to  Braddqck’s  defeat)  with  seven  pieces  of 

U 


—  154*— 


artillery,  and  all  the  stores.  Gen.  St.  Clair  had  about 
1200  men,  had  reason  to  expect  an  attack  and  kept  his 
men  under  arms  all  night,  drawn  up  in  a  square.  The 
attack  commenced  about  dawn  of  day,  on  all  the  lines* 
but  principally  on  the  rear  lines,  which  was  composed 
cf  the  militia.  The  Indians  gave  one  lire  and  rushed 
on,  tomahawk  in  hand.  The  militia  gave  way  to  the 
centre  ;  and  before  the  artillery  could  be  brought  into 
action,  the  matrosses  were  all  killed  and  it  fell  into  the 
fiances  of  the  enemy. 

It  was  retaken  but  was  useless  for  want  of  men  to 
manage  the  pieces.  The  action  was  continued  obstinate¬ 
ly  until  9  o’clock,  when  the  troops  gave  way.  St.  Clair 
rallied  his  men,  and  brought  them  off  in  tolerable  order* 
with  most  of  the  wounded  to  Fort  Jefferson,  SO  miles  in 
the  rear  of  the  action.  The  enemy  pursued  five  miles. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  return  of  the  Officers  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  engagement 

Killed. —  1  Major-General,  1  Lieut.  Colonel,  4  Ma¬ 
jors,  11  Captains,  10  Lieutenants,  9  Ensigns,  1  Sur¬ 
geon.— Total  S  7. 

Wounded. —  2  Lieut.  Colonels,  1  Major,  1 1  Captains, 
6  Lieutenants,  6  Ensigns,  1  Surgeon. — Total  27, 

Beside  the  above,  there  were  about  550  privates  killed 
and  many  more  wounded— few  officers  of  distinction  es¬ 
cape  ept  Gen,  St.Clair,  who  had  many  narrow 
:  '  c*.  eight  balls  passed  through  hia  cloathes.  The 

;.tack  was  conducted  with  astonishing  intrepidity  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians — in  a  few  moments  the  General’s 
lent  was  surrounded  :  however,  he  was  rescued  by  a 
party  of  regular  soldiers,  who  repelled  the  enemy  with 
fixed  bayonets;  There  was  a  party  of  the  Chickasaw 
nation  on  their  way  to  join  Gen.  St.  Clair,  but  did 


—  155— 


not  arrive  in  season— there  was  but  one  fellow  only  of 
that  nation  in  the  action,  who  killed  and  scalped  eleven 
of  the  enemy  with  his  own  hands,  and  engaging  with 
the  twelfth,  he  fell,  greatly  lamented  by  the  Ameri. 

cans.  "y"' 

Major-General  Butler  was  wounded  and  carried  to  a 
convenient  place  to  have  his  wounds  dressed,  but  an  In¬ 
dian  having  discovered  the  place  to  which  he  was  con* 
veyed,  broke  through  the  troops  who  attended  him,  and 
tomahawked  and  scalped  the  former  before  he  was  kil¬ 
led  by  the  troops.—  [ICF35  See  Plate .] 

Agreeable  to  the  statement  of  the  Indians,  they  kil¬ 
led  650  of  the  American  troops,  and  took  seven  pieces 
©f  cannon— 200  oxen  and  a  great  number  of  horses,  but 
no  prisoners— and  that  their  loss  was  only  fifty-six  warri¬ 
ors  killed. — They  stated  that  they  were  4000  strong,  # 
and  were  commanded  by  one  of  the  Missasago  Indians, 
who  had  been  in  the  British  service  in  the  late  war  ;  that 
he  planned  and  conducted  the  attack,  which  was  even 
contrary  to  the  opinion  of  a  majority  of  the  chiefs— and, 
that  after  the  Americans  began  their  retreat,  he  told 
the  Indians  they  had  killed  enough,  and  that  it  was  prop¬ 
er  to  give  over  the  pursuit,  and  return  and  enjoy  the 
booty  they  had  taken — he  was  six  feet  in  height,  about 
«45  years  of  age,  of  a  very  sour  and  morose  countenance, 
and  apparently  very  crafty  and  subtle — his  dtess  was  In¬ 
dian  hose  and  moccasons,  a  blue  petticoat  that  came  half 
way  down  his  thighs,  an  European  waistcoat  and  surtout  ; 
his  head  was  bound  with  an  Indian  cap  that  hung  half 
way  down  his  back,  and  almost  entirely  filled  with  plain 
silver  broaches  to  the  number  of  more  than  two  hund¬ 
red  ;  he  had  two  ear-rings  to  each  ear;  the  upper  part 
of  each  was  formed  of  three  silver  medals  about  the 
size  of  a  dollar ;  the  lower  part  was  formed  of  quarters 
©f  dollars,  and  fell  more  than  12  inches  from  his  Cars; 


— 


one  from  each  ear  over  his  breast— the  other  over  his 
back  ;  he  had  three  very  large  nose  jewels  of  silver  that 
were  curiously  painted. 

The  party  af  friendly  Chickasaws,  who  were  on  their 
way  to  join  the  American  troops  arrived  at  Fort  Jeffer¬ 
son  two  days  after  the  bloody  action.— They  were  com¬ 
manded  by  Piomingo,  or  the  Mountain  Leader. — On 
their  way  they  discovered  that  the  troops  had  been  de¬ 
feated,  but  saw  but  one  of  the  enemy,  who,  mistaking 
Piomjngo’s  party  for  some  of  his  own  comrades,  made 
up  to  them  ;  he  perceived  his  mistake,  but  too  late  to 
retreat;  he  was  accosted  by  Piomixgo,  with  u  Rascal 
you  have  been  killing  ’white  men.”  He  endeavored  to  ex¬ 
culpate  himself,  but  Piomingo  ordered  two  of  his  war¬ 
riors  to  expand  his  arms,  and  a  third,  an  old  man  (for 
says  Piomingo,  “  none  of  my  young  men  shall  disgrace 
themselves  so  much  as  to  kill  a  wretch  like  thee’*)  to 
shoot  him  through  the  heart,  which  was  accordingly  . ex 
ecuted  ;  they  afterwards  took  off  his  scalp. 

During  Sr.  Clair's  bloody  engagement,  Adjutant 
JBurcess  received  two  wounds,  the  second  of  which 
proved  mortal :  after  the  receipt  of  the  first,  he  contin¬ 
ued  to  fight  with  distinguished  gallantry  ;  the  second 
unfortunately  stopped  his  progress  :  faint  with  the  loss 
of  blood,  he  fell  :  a  woman,  who  attended  him  and  was 
particularly  attached  to  him,  raised  him  up,  and  while 
supporting  him  in  her  arms,  received  a  ball  in  her  breast, 
which  put  an  immediate  end  to  her  existence  I 

Soon  after  Ensign  Wilson  (a  much  lamented  youth) 
fell,  one  of  the  savages  attempted  to  take  off  his  scalp, 
which  Col.  Darke  perceiving,  he  hastened  to  the  spot, 
and  with  his  sword  stabbed  the  miscreant  through  the 
body. 


/ 


— 157— 

INDIANS  DEFEATED. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  defeat  of  the  troops  under  Gen. 
St.  Clair,  Gen.  Scott  despatched  from  the  men  under 
his  command  two  spies  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy,  who, 
when  they  arrived  at  the  distrance  of  a  few  miles  from 
the  fatal  spot  where  the  bloody  action  was  fought,  they 
discovered  a  large  party  of  Indians  diverting  and  enjoy¬ 
ing  themselves  with  the  plunder  they  had  taken,  riding 
the  bullocks,  &c.  and  appeared  to  be  mostly  drunk—the 
men  returned  and  communicated  the  important  informa¬ 
tion  to  Gen.  Scott,  who  immediately  thereupon  divided 
his  troops  into  three  divisions,  advanced  and  fell  on  the 
enemy  by  surprise — the  contest  was  short  but  victorious 
on  the  part  of  the  American  troops  ;  two  hundred  of 
the  enemy  were  killed  on  the  spot,  all  the  cannon  and 
stores  in  their  possession  retaken,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  savage  body  put  to  flight. — Gen.  Scott  losing  but 
six  men,  returned  to  head  quarters  in  triumph,  with  most 
of  the  cattle,  stores,  See. 

Gen.  Scott  gave  the  following  affecting  account  of 
the  appearance  of  the  field  on  which  the  bloody  action 
between  the  American  troops,  under  Gen,  St.  Clair, 
and  the  savages,  was  fought : — “  The  place  had  a  very 
melancholy  appearance— nearly  in  the  space  of  350  yards 
lay  500  skull  bones — 300  of  which  were  buried  by  my 
men  while  on  the  ground  ;  from  thence  for  five  miles  on, 
and  from  the  roads  through  the  woods,  was  strewed  with 
skeletons,  muskets,  &c.” 

DEFEAT  OF  MAJOR  M‘MAHON. 

On  the  29th  of  July,  1794,  Maj.  McMahon  marched 
with  80  riflemen,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Harts- 


158— 


«orn,  and  50  dragoons  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Taylor,  for  Fort  Recovery,  as  an  escort  to  300  pack- 
horses  loaded  with  flour  for  that  garrison  :  on  the  morn¬ 
ing  following  after  they  had  deposited  their  loading,  and 
were  preparing  to  set  out  on  their  return,  they  were  at¬ 
tacked  by  an  army  of  1200  Indians  ;  Capt.  Hartshorn, 
who  had  advanced  with  the  riflemen  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  into  the  woods,  immediately  look  post  .on  a  very 
strong  commanding  piece  of  ground  near  the  garrison, 
and  with  unparalleled  bravery,  maintained  the  unequal 
fight,  till  Maj.  M‘Mahon,  who  had  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalry,  was  killed,  as  was  Capt.  Taylor,  and 
Cornet  Terry,  and  many  of  the  men  wounded.  The 
enemy  now  put  their  force  against  Capt.  Hartshorn, 
and  in  the  moment  when  they  were  pushing  to  cut  off 
his  communication  with  the  garrison,  Lieut,  Drake,  and 
Ensign  Dod,  sallied  out,  at  the  head  of  20  brave  fellows, 
who  turned  out  voluntarily  on  *ihe  occasion,  and  joined 
him,  after  beating  the  enemy  back  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet  ;  at  this  instant  the  brave  Capt.  Hartshorn  re¬ 
ceived  a  shot  which  broke  his  thigh.  Lieut.  Craig  was 
killed,  and  Lieut.  Marks  taken  prisoner.  Lieut.  Drake 
now  ordered  a  retreat,  and  in  endeavoring  to  hold  the  en¬ 
emy  in  check,  so  as  to  give  the  men  time  to  save  Capt. 
Hartshorn,  he  received  a  shot  in  the  groin.  The  ene¬ 
my  now  pressed  so  hard  as  to  compel  the  men  to  leave 
their  captain. 

Great  numbers  of  the  Indians  must  have  been  killed, 

•  as  they  came  forward  in  solid  columns,  up  to  the  muzzle 
of  the  guns,  Lieut.  Michael,  who  was  with  Capt. 
Hartshorn,  but  whom  he  had  detached  with  a  few  active 
men  to  the  flank  of  the  enemy,  was  now  missing  ;  and 
while  their  companions  in  the  fort  were  deploring  their 
fate  and  had  given  them  up  as  lost,  they  saw  him  and 
Lieut.  Marks  rushing  through  the  thick  of  the  enemy 

■  -$0"'  { 


I 


—159— 

at  opposite  directions,  and  though  numbers  of  guns  were 
fired  at  them  they  got  in  safe.4  Lieut.  Michael  lost  every 
man  of  his  part^  except  three,  and  Lieut.  Marks  got  off 
by  knocking  down  the  Indian  who  took  him* 

The  Indians  were  observed  to  carry  off  great  numbers 
of  killed  and  wounded  on  pack  horses — the  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  25  killed,  and  about  40  wounded — the 
party  commanded  by  Capt.  Hartshorn  brought  in  ten 
scalps  of  the  enemy. 


CHAP.  XL 


DEPREDATIONS  OF  THE  INDIANS  ON  THE- 

FRONTIERS  in  1791,  1792  and  1793. 

ON  the  10th  December  1791,  as  two  men  and 
three  boys  were  fishing  on  Floyd’s  fork  of  Salt  Riv¬ 
er,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
who  killed  the  two  men  and  made  prisoners  of  the  boys. 
Soon  after  they  liberated  one  of  the  lads,  first  presenting 
him  with  a  tomahawk,  which  they  desired  him  to  carry 
to  his  friends  and  inform  them  what  had  become  of  his 
companions. 

About  the  20th,  a  party  of  Indians  attacked  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Chenoweth,  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wabash,  they  killed  and  scalped  two  of  his  children 
and  tomahawked  and  scalped  his  wife,  whom  they  left 
for  dead— Mr.  C.  (who  had  his  arm  broken  by  the  fire 
of  the  savages)  with  the  remainder  of  the  family  made 
their  escape.— A  sick  daughter  who  was  confined  to  her 
chamber,  and  who  during  the  bloody  affray  had  been  for- 
gotton  by  her  father,  remained  ignorant  of  the  horrid 
massacre  until  the  succeeding  day  ;  when,  no  one  of  the 
fwojly  coming  to  her  assist&nce3  she  succeeded  in  crawL 


— 160 — - 

i 

ing  down  stairs,  where  she  was  inexpressibly  shocked  at 
the  sight  of  a  beloved  parent  stretched  upon  the  floor, 
almost  lifeless,  and  beside  of  whom  lay  the  managled 
bodies  of  her  dear  brothers.  Fortunately,  her  unhappy 
lather  returned  the  succeeding  day  to  the  house,  and  con¬ 
veyed  the  two  surviving  members  of  his  family  to  the 
house  of  a  friend,  where  they  finally  recovered. 

On  the  24th,  a  party  of  Indians  attacked  the  dwel¬ 
ling  house  of  a  Mr.  John  Merril ,  in  Nelson  county, 
(Kentucky.) — Mr.  Merril ,  who  was  first  alarmed  by 
the  barking  of  his  dog,  hastened  to  the  door  to  discover 
the  cause,  on  opening  of  which,  he  received  the  fire  of  the 
Indians  which  broke  his  right  leg  and  arm — the  Indians 
now  attempted  to  enter  the  house,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  doors  being  immediately  closed  and  secured  by  Mrs$ 
Merril  and  her  daughter — the  Indians  succeeded  in 
hewing  away  a  part  of  the  door,  through  which  passage 
one  of  them  attempted  to  enter,  but  the  heroic  mother,  in 
the  midst  of  her  screaming  children  and  groaning  hus¬ 
band,  seized  an  axe  and  gave  the  ruffian  a  fatal  blow  ;  af¬ 
ter  which  she  hauled  him  through  the  passage  into  the 
house  ! — the  others  (unconscious  of  the  fate  of  their  com¬ 
panion)  supposing  that  they  had  now  nearly  succeeded  in 
their  object,  rushed  forward,  four  of  whom  Mrs.  Merril 
in  like  manner  despatched  before  the  others  discovered 
their  mistake. — The  remaining  Indians,  after  retiring  for 
a  few  moments,  returned  and  renewed  their  efforts  to  enter 
the  house — despairing  of  succeeding  at  the  door  they  got 
on  the  top  of  the  house  and  attempted  to  descend  the 
chimney,  to  prevent  which  Mr*  Merril  directed  his  lit¬ 
tle  sou  to  empty  upon  the  fire  the  contents  of  a  feather¬ 
bed,  which  had  the  desired  effect,  as  the  smoke  and  heat 
caused  thereby,  soon  brought  down  rather  unexpectedly 
two  of  the  enemy  : — Mr.  Merril  exerting  every  faculty 

at  this  critical  moment,  seized  a  billet  of  wood  with 

-  • 


tirhich  he  soon  despatched  the  two  half  smothered  Indians, 
while  in  the  mean  time  his  heroic  wife  was  busily  engag¬ 
ed  in  defending  the  door  against  the  efforts  of  the  only 
remaining  one,  whom  she  so  severely  wounded  with  an 
axe  that  he  was  soon  glad  to  retire. 

A  prisoner  who  escaped  from  the  enemy  soon  after 
the  transaction,  informed  that  the  wounded  savage  above 
mentioned  was  the  only  one  that  escaped  of  the  party, 
which  consisted  of  eight — that  on  his  return  being  asked 
by  the  prisoner  “  what  news,”  he  answered  “bad  news 
for  poor  Indian,  me  lose  a  son,  me  lose  a  brother— the 
squaws  have  taken  the  breach  clout  and  fight  worse  than 
the  “  Long  Knives  !'* 

* 

Copy  ol  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  residing  at  the  west¬ 
ward  to  a  friend  in  New-York,  dated, 
f  Marietta ,  February  1,  179 2. 

“  Our  prospects  are  much  changed. — Instead  of  peace 
and  friendship  with  our  Indian  neighbors,  a  horrid  savage 
war  stares  us  in  the  face  ;  the  Indians,  instead  of  being 
humbled  by  the  destruction  of  the  Shavvanese  towns,  and 
brought  to  beg  for  peabe,  appear  determined  on  a  gener¬ 
al  war,  in  which  our  settlements  are  already  involved—- 
On  the  evening  of  the  second  instant,  they  fell  on  a  set¬ 
tlement  about  forty  miles  up  the  Muskingum,  surprised 
a  block-house,  killed  fourteen  persons,  and.  carried  off 
three  others.  The  persons  killed  are,  John  and  Philip 
Stacy,  sons  to  Col.  William  Stacy,  from  New  Salem,  Ez¬ 
ra  Putnam,  son  to  Major  Ezra  Putnam,  from  Middle- 
town,  in  Massachusetts,  John  Camp,  from  the  same 
place,  Jonathan  Farewell,  and  James  Cash,  and  William 
Patton,  fiom  New  Hampshire,  Zebulon  Troop,  f  ora 
Baare,  William  James,  from  Connecticut,  Joseph  Clarke, 
from  Rhode-Tsland,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Meeks,  with 

V 


162 


bis  wife  and  children,  from  Virginia.  These  were  all 
killed- in  and  at  the  block-house.  Francis  and  Isaac 
Choat,  from  Leicester,  and  one  Shaw,  who  kept  at  a  hut 
about  50  rods  from  the  block  house,  was  not  found  by  the 
party  that  went  out,  and  it  is  hoped  that  they  are  prison¬ 
ers. — What  number  of  Indians  were  concerned  in  this 
mischief,  or  from  what  tribe,  we  know  not,  but  from  those 
Indians  who  till  lately  used  to  visit  our  settlement  every 
day,  withdrawing  themselves  entirely  from  our  sight,  ever 
since  the  expedition  against  the  Shavvanese,  there  is  little 
reason  to  doubt  but  the  Delawares  and  the  Wiandots,  as 
weil  as  others,  have  had  a  hand  in  this  nefarious  business* 

“  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  give  a  just  idea  of  the 
distress  into  which  this  event  has  thrown  the  inhabitants, 
especially  those  of  the  out  settlements.  For  my  own 
part  I  have  lor  some  time  been  of  opinion,  that  the  spring 
would  open  with  a  general  attack  on  thtj  frontiers,  in  which 
event  I  did  not  expect  we  should  escape,  unless  govern¬ 
ment  should  timely  send  troops  for  our  protection,  which 
tve  was  in  hopes  would  be  the  case.  But  it  seems  the 
enemy  are  determined  to  take  advantage  of  our  defence¬ 
less  situation.  I  consider  this  event  as  the  forerunner  of 
other  attacks  cf  a  more  serious  nature,  and  which  may 
involve  us  in  complete  ruin,  unless  prevented  by  govern¬ 
ment  immediately  taking  measures  for  our  protection.— * 
To  their  protection  I  conceive  we  always  had  an  indispu¬ 
table  claim,  which  claim,  if  possible,  is  increased  by  the 
circumstances  that  have  brought  us  under  the  resent* 
ment  of  the  Indians,  and  at  least,  in  some  measure  pro¬ 
duced  the  mischiefs  that  we  are  fallen  into.” 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Kentucky  to  his 
friend  in  Philadelphia,  dated 

March  3,  1792. 

s<  As  to  the  Indians,  they  have  been  troublesome  all 


—  163— 

winter.  Since  October  last,  60  persons  have  been  killed 
within  the  limits  of  this  district,  besides  a  number  des¬ 
troyed  on  the  Ohio  ;  among  whom  is  our  old  acquain¬ 
tance,  Mr.  John  May,  late  of  Botetoute,  whose  exit  de¬ 
serves  notice,  because  he  was  actuated  by  motives  of  hu¬ 
manity.  The  affair  is  thus  related  by  a  captive  that  has 
lately  made  his  escape  from  the  Indians,  who  was  a  spec¬ 
tator.  and  an  unwilling  instrument  in  the  tragedy. 

Mr.  May,  in  descending  the  Great  Kanhawa  and  Ohio, 
about  the  20th  of  February  last,  discovered  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  latter,  near  the  mouth  of  Sciotai  a  white 
man,  who,  with  a  plaintive  voice,  was  calling,  for  God’s 
sake,  to  come  and  take  a  poor  prisoner  on  board,  that  was 
endeavouring  to  escape  from  the  savages.  This  had  the 
intended  effect.  Mr.  May  ordered  the  boat  towards  the 
shore,  and  did  not  discover  his  mistake  until  the  Indians 
rose  up  from  their  ambush,  fired,  shot  him  dead,  and 
wounded  some  dthers  of  the  passengers  on  board,  who 
immediately  endeavored  to  make  off ;  but  being  toicl  in 
the  English  tongue,  they  should  have  good  quarters,  sur¬ 
rendered  without  resistance.  The  Indians,  however,  on 
boarding  the  boat,  massacred  all,  without  distinction* 
Two  days  after,  the  same  party  attempted  to  decoy  three 
large  boats  ashore  that  were  coming  down  from  Fort  Pitt, 
but  luckily  they  were  discovered  in  time,  and  our  people 
sheered  off.  The  enemy,  being  prepared,  manned  one 
of  their  boats  with  about  30  warriors,  and  giave  chase. 
The  crews  of  two  of  the  boats,  fearing  they  might  be 
overtaken,  quitted  them,  and  went  on  board  the  best  sailor, 
where  they  threw  overboard  all  the  horses,  and  some 
heavy  articles,  and  plied  all  their  oars  to  effect  their  es¬ 
cape.  The  Indians  also  exerted  themselves  in  the  pur* 
suit,  keeping  on  a  steady  course  for  about  20  miles,  not¬ 
withstanding  24  well  armed  white  men  were  on  board 
tbe  American  boat,  with  one  of  our  Colonels  of 


1 


*-  m- 


Thus,  for  want  of  a  little  resolution  and  skill,  a  favour¬ 
able  opportunity  was  lost,  to  destroy  a  number  of  the  vile 
enemies  to  the  human  race.  The  Indians,  on  their  re¬ 
turn,  took  possession  of  the  two  boats  that  were  abandon¬ 
ed,  and  found  in  them  17  horses,  5000  dollars  worth  of 
merchandize,  and  considerable  property,  belonging  to  the 
emigrants. 

Fort  M’Intosh,  on  the  Ohio,  was  a  short  time  since 
attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians — they  secreted  themselves 
near  the  fort  and  succeeded  in  killing  the  centinel  on  du¬ 
ty,  they  then  rushed  into  the  fort  and  discharged  their 
pieces  on  those  within,  but  one  man  was  wounded,  who, 
in  endeavouring  to  escape,  was  tomahawked  by  an  In¬ 
dian.  One  ball  just  grazed  the  temple  of  Capt.  Forbes, 
who  commanded  the  guard,  and  four  others  struck  the 
log  above  his  head,  the  splinters  and  bits  of  which  cut 
his  face,  and  left  it  as  if  scarified.  The  garrison  consist¬ 
ed  ol  twenty  men  and  there  were  about  forty  of  the 
enemy. 

Thus,  sir,  we  find  that  Indian  treaties  do  not  secure 
our  country  from  the  depredations  of  the  savages  oyr 
last  hope  now  is  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
will,  ere  long,  adopt  such  measures  as  will  prove  the 
efficiency  of  the  Federal  Government,  to  protect  the  citi¬ 
zens  of  the  United  States,  however  remotely  situated 
from  the  seat  of  government.” 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  South-Carolina  to  a 
friend  in  New-York,  dated 

41  Charleston ,  August  6,  1792* 

**  An  express  arrived  from  Gen.  Pickens  and  Colonel 
Anderson,  which  brings  advices  to  the  Governor,  stating, 
that  a  general  Indian  war  on  the  western  frontiers  of  the 
southern  states  seems  inevitable  |  that  by  intelligence  from 


fche  country  of  the  Creeks,  all  the  tribes  except  the  Cus* 
sataws  are  determined  for  war  ;  urged  by  Galphjn,  the 
successor  of  M‘Gillivray  ;  and  that  they  have  already 
commenced  hostilities  within  the  Carolina  line,  a  party  of 
them  having  killed  and  scalped  a  man  on  Tugaloo.  We 
hear  his  excellency  has  ordered  one  third  of  the  militia 
in  the  upper  districts  to  be  drafted,  and  held  in  readiness 
for  immediate  service,  should  the  savages  make  further 

N  ^ 

depredations  on  the  frontiers. 

“  Yesterday  evening  a  gentleman  arrived  here  from 
Augusta,  in  Georgia,  who  informed  us,  that  six  of  the 
Creek  towns,  with  a  number  of  Cherokees,  had  declared 
war  against  the  United  States,  and  were  actually  march¬ 
ing  under  the  command  of  Bowles  and  Galfhin  to  at¬ 
tack  the  frontiers? 

“  On  the  22d  ult.  the  Indians,  37  in  number,  came  to 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Richarb  Thresher,  in  Augusta, 
and  fired  upon  and  killed  Mr.  Thresher,  two  children 
and  a  negro  woman  ;  Mrs.  Thresher,  to  avoid  if  possi- 
sible  the  fate  with  which  she  was  threatened,  fled  with  an 
infant  of  about  five  or  six.  weeks  old  in  her  arms,  and 
leaped  into  the  river  ;  the  Indians  pursued)  shot  her 
through  each  thigh  and  right  breast,  stabbed  her  in  the 
left  breast  with  a  knife,  cut  her  left  arm  nearly  off,  and 
then  scalped  her.  In  this  horrid  situation  she  remained 
until  the  neighbours  could  assemble  in  sufficient  numbers 
to  cross  the  river  and  pursue  the  Indians.  As  the  first 
canoe  was  crossing  she  had  strength  enough  to  call  for 
assistance,  they  went,  found  her  hanging  by  a  bush  in 
water  nearly  up  to  her  chin,  her  infant  at  the  bottom  of 
the  river,  a  few  yards  from  her.  She  lived  24  hours,  and 
when  informed  by  her  physician  that  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  survive  much  longer,  she  with  a  fortitude  that 
is  rarely  to  be  met  with,  called  her  friends  around  her, 
and  in  a  calm  but  pathetic  manner,  gave  her  hand  to  each 


one,  wishing  them  a  better  fate  than  had  befallen  herself 
and  family  ;  and  when  after  her  speech  failed,  as  neigh¬ 
bors  were  constantly  coming  in,  she  continued  to  give 
her  hand  until  about  five  minutes  before  she  resigned  her 
breath,  which  was  without  a  groan. 

“  Mrs.  Thresher  was  about  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
of  a  respectable  family  and  elegant  person,  and  possessed 
an  uncommon  education* 

“  On  Thursday  the  24th  two  men  were  killed  in  Frank¬ 
lin,  and  40  horses  carried  off ;  and  since  the  accounts 
above  received,  all  the  inhabitants  on  the  frontiers  have 
retreated  into  forts,  without  arms  or  ammunition.— At 
one  meeting  of  near  40  persons  they  could  only  muster 
five  old  muskets  ;  to  heighten  the  horror  of  their  condi¬ 
tion,  the  Ind:ans  were  momently  expected 

u  As  similar  murders  are  daily  committed,  it  called  up 
the  spirit  of  800  gallant  fellows,  who  marched  last  week 
against  the  savages,  determined  to  revenge  the  cruelties 
perpetrated  on  the  infant,  the  mother,  and  the  defenceless. 

To  see  the  country  all  in  forts,  breaking  up,  leaving 
their  farms,  their  houses  and  corn  burnt  up,  is  truly  dis¬ 
tressing.  At  this  time  nearly  half  the  country  are  in  forts. 

“  Captain  Kenton  with  about  35  men,  who  went  up 
the  Ohio  in  order  to  intercept  the  Indians  who  took  Mor¬ 
gan's  station,  fell  in  with  a  trail  of  a  party  of  Indians  on 
the  waters  of  Point  Creek,  coming  in  to  the  settlement. 
He  followed  them,  and  at  night  observing  he  was  near 
them,  sent  forward  some  spies  to  discover  their  fires  } 
•unluckily  the  spies  fell  in  with  their  camp,  and  before  they 
discovered  it  the  Indians  were  alarmed  by  a  dog  who 
flew  cut  at  the  spies  ;  upon  which  the  Indians  fired  on 
them  ;  the  spies  returned  the  fire  ;  upon  hearing  the  fir¬ 
ing  the  whole  of  the  party  came  up,  and  the  Indians  re¬ 
treated,  leaving  their  baggage,  amongst  which  was  a 
quantity  of  powder,  lead,  and  blankets.  Kenton  had 


J 


—  167— 

cne  man  killed.  It  is  supposed  two  Indians  were  killed 
and  carried  off,  from  some  discoveries  that  were  made 
next  morning.’* 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  Fort  Washington,  dated  April 

20th  1792. 

lt  On  Tuesday  morning  the  6th  inst.  Major  Adair, 
with  120  mounted  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  having 
charge  of  a  large  number  of  pack  horses  laden  with  pro¬ 
visions,  destined  for  the  advanced  postfc,  was  most  dar¬ 
ingly  attacked  by  nearly  an  equal  party  of  Indians,  al¬ 
though  under  cover  of  Fort  St.  Clair — notwithstanding 
which,  and  that  cur  people  fought  desperately,  the  In¬ 
dians  drove  them  into  the  fort,  and  carried  off  ail  the 
provisions  and  horses  (both  pack  and  cavalry)  save  about 
twenty  killed  and  four  wounded,  and  stripped  the  camp 
of  every  thing  ;  carrying  the  whole  off  with  most,  au¬ 
dacious  insult  and  triumph.  But  as  soon  as  the  party 
were  re- supplied  with  ammunition  from  the  garrison, 
they  sallied  forth  near  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ene¬ 
my  ;  but  too  late  to  recover  the  booty  which  the  Indians 
had  made.  The  courage  and  daring  spirit  of  these  peo¬ 
ple  were  particularly  conspicuous  on  this  occasion,  as 
they  fought  almost  under  the  guns  of  the  Fort.  Our 
loss  wras  one  captain  and  ten  privates  killed,  and  some 
wounded,  besides  horses  and  provisions  estimated  at  fif¬ 
teen  thousand  dollars.  Two  of  the  enemy  were  found 
dead  a  short  distance  from  the  field  of  action.  If  these  In¬ 
dians  had  writers  among  them,  what  honorable  testimo¬ 
ny  and  eulogy  might  they  not  give  of  the  noble  spirit 
and  heroic  bravery  of  the  native  American  character, 
rather  than  depreciate  it  as  the  Europeans  do.  Two  of 
our  men  have  lately  made  their  escape  from  the  Miami 
villages  and  arrived  here— they  give  account  of  a  mock 


—168— 

fight  lately  exhibited  to  amuse  the  numerous  Indians  As¬ 
sembled  there,  and  to  divert  there  squaws  and  children. 
— It  was  in  ridicule  of  General  St.  Clair’s  disposition 
of  his  troops  on  the  4th  November  last,  and  of  his  flight 
before  the  Indians,  who  pursued  him  and  his  army 
whilst  the  other  plundered  his  camp ;  they  have  given 
out  that  they  mean  to  celebrate  this  event  annually,  by  a 
like  sham  fight  and  a  great  dance  to  be  called  General 
St.  Clair’s  fight  and  dance.  It  is  to  be  hoped  we  yet 
shall  have  an  opportunity  to  retaliate,  and  to  teach  our 
enemy  to  amuse  themselves  at  our  expense  in  a  'less  lu¬ 
dicrous  manner.  It  seems  Gen.  St.  Clair’s  field  of  ac¬ 
tion  was  on  a  branch  of  the  Wabash,  twenty-four  leagues 
from  the  Miami  towns,  which  are  now  inhabited  by  the 
hostile  Indians. 

«  A  letter  from  a  correspondent,  on  whose  veracity 
we  can  rely,  in  the  territory  of  the  United  Stales  south 
of  the  river  Ohio,  dated  the  17th  ult.  states  that  every 
thing  wears  a  gloomy  aspect  on  the  western  frontiers  ; 
that  about  the  last  of  December,  the  Cherokeea  sent  in 
peace  talkers  to  Governor  Blount,  which  were  only 
intended  to  facilitate  the  commission  of  further  depreda¬ 
tions  by  them,  when  the  guards  from  cur  out-posts  were 
withdrawn  ;  that  from  the  16th  to  the  26th  of  January, 
the  Indians  killed  and  wounded  19  persons  in  Cumber¬ 
land,  among  whom  was  Ewin  Shelby,  brother  to  the 
Governor  of  Kentucky  ;  that  four  of  the  Chickamogga 
towns  and  the  upper  Creeks  have  declared  war  ;  that  the 
Creeks  had  killed  a  family  in  the  county  of  George  ;  that 
the  barbarity  exercised  by  them  in  this  massacre,  was 
enough  to  make  huinan  nature  shudder  at  the  bare  reci¬ 
tal. — They  butchered  them  like  so  many  dogs,  caught 
their  blood  and  bowels,  exposed  them  to  view,  and  then 
gave  the  whole  to  a  tame  bear  to  devour  ;  that  the  Chero¬ 
keea  had  killed  two  Creeks,  wounded  several,  and  takep 

'■  ^J'%  ^  ._-x 

■*AA  /:*■  ♦ 

*  A 


5? 


t  .* 


two  prisoners  ;  that  the  Creeks  threaten  to  retaliate,  and 
cut  them  all  off ;  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  are 
waiting  with  impatience  for  the  general  government  to 
afford  them  succour  and  protection  ;  that  treaties  with  the 
savages  will  avail  nothing,  as,  what  promises  they  make 
to-day,  they  will  not  hesitate  to  break  to- morrow.” 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  John  Corbly ,  (a  Baptist  mi¬ 
nister)  to  his  friend  in  Philadelphia,  dated 

4i  Muddy  Creek ,  (Penn.)  Sept.  1,  1792. 

tl  Dear  Sir , 

“  The  following  are  the  particulars  of  the  de« 
struction  of  my  unfortunate  family  by  the  Savages— On 
the  10th  May  last  being  my  appointment  to  preach  at 
one  of  my  meeting  houses,  about  a  mile  from  my  dwel¬ 
ling  house,  I  sat  out  with  my  loving  wife  and  five  chil¬ 
dren,  for  public  worship.  Not  suspecting  any  danger, 
I  walked  behind  a  few  rods  with  my  bible  in  my  hand, 
meditating. — As  I  \fats  thus  employed,  on  a  sudden,  I 
was  greatly  alarmed  by  the  frightful  shrieks  of  my  dear 
family  before  me — I  immediately  ran  to  their  relief  with 
all  possible  speed,  vainly  hunting  a  club  as  I  ran — when 
within  a  few  yards  of  them,  my  poor  wife  observing  me 
cried  out  to  me  to  make  my  escape — at  this  instant  an 
Indian  ran  up  to  shoot  me,  I  had  to  strip  ao.d  by  so  doing 
out  run  him.  My  wife  had  an  infant  in  her  arms  which 
the  Indians  killed  and  scalped,  after  which  they  struck 
my  wife  several  times,  but  not  bringing  her  to  the  ground, 
the  Indian  who  attempted  to  shoot  me  approaches  her 
and  shot  her  through  the  body,  after  which  they  scalped 
her  !— my  little  son,  about  six  years  old,  they  despatched 
by  sinking  their  hatchets  into  his  brains  1 — my  little 
daughter,  four  years  old,  they  in  like  manner  killed  and 

X 


scalped  !  My  eldest  daughter  attempted  an  escape  bf 
concealing  herself  in  a  hollow  tree,  about  six  rods  from 
the  fatal  scene  of  action — observing  the  Indians  retiring 
(as  she  supposed)  she  deliberately  crept  from  the  place  of 
her  concealment,  when  one  of  the  Indians,  who  yet  re¬ 
mained  on  the  ground,  espying  her,  ran  up  to  her  and 
with  his  tomahawk  knocked  her  down  and  scalped  her  ! — 
but,  blessed  be  God,  she  yet  survives,  as  does  her  little 
sister  whom  the  savages  in  like  manner  tomahawked  and 
scalped — they  are  mangled  to  a  shocking  degree,  but  the 
doctors  think  there  are  some  hopes  of  their  recovery. 

When  I  supposed  the  Indians  gone  I  returned  to  see 
what  had  become  of  my  unfortunate  family — whom,  alas, 
1  found  in  the  situation  above  described  1 — No  one,  my 
dear  Iriend,  can  form  a  true  conception  of  my  feelings  at 
this  moment — a  view  of  a  scene  so  shocking  to  humanity 
quite  overcome  me — I  fainted,  and  was  unconciously 
borne  off  by  a  friend  who  at  the  instant  arrived  to  my  relief. 

Thus,  deap  sir,  have  I  given  you  a  faithful  though  a 
short  narrative  of  the  fatal  catastrophe — and  amidst 
which  my  life  is  spared,  but  for  what  purpose  the  Great 
Jehovah  best  knows — oh,  may  I  spend  it  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  his  grace,  who  worketh  all  things  after  the 
council  of  his  own  will— ‘the  government  of  the  world  and 
the  church  is  in  his  hands.  I  conclude  with  wishing  you 
every  blessing,  and  subscribe  myself  your  affectionate 
though  afflicted  friend,  and  unworthy  brother  in  the  gos¬ 
pel  ministry.  JOHN  CORBLY.” 


On  the  27th  September,  1792,  as  five  gentlemen 

« 

(Messrs.  Jacobus  Taller,  Isaac  Arnold,  James  Ste¬ 
wart,  Daniel  Barclay,  and  Isaac  Van  Alstyne,) 
were  on  their  way  to  Detroit,  at  a  place  called  the  river 
Burdel,  on  Lake  Erie,  they  were  suddenly  attached  by 


four  Mahagon  or  Delaware  Indians,  (armed  with  mus¬ 
kets  and  tomahawks)  who  fired  on  them  and  killed  Mr. 
Taller  and  Mr.  Barclay  dead  on  the  spot,  and  wound¬ 
ed  Mr.  Arnold — they  then  rushed  on  with  their  toma¬ 
hawks— one  attacked  Mr.  Arnold,  who,  after  a  smart 
struggle,  in  which  he  received  several  wounds  in  his  head, 
disengaged  himself,  and  having  a  musket  at  the  instant 
presented  him  by  Mr.  Stewart,  snapped  it  (it  unfortu¬ 
nately  not  being  charged)  at  the  Indian,  who  immediately 
thereupon  with  the  three  others  fled  to  the  woods.  As 
soon  as  they  had  disappeared,  Mr.  Arnold  and  his  com¬ 
panion  hastened  to  the  shore  of  the  lake,  in  which  they 
launched  their  batteau,  but  when  about  thirty  rods  from 
the  shore,  they  were  hailed  by  Mr.  Van  Alstyne,  who 
during  the  bloody  contest  had  secreted  himself  in  the 
bushes— he  begged  of  his  companions  to  return  and  take 
him  on  board,  on  which  Mr.  Arnold  requested  him  to 
proeeed'a  few  rods  down  the  lake  to  a;  point  of  land, 
where  he  could  more  conveniently  take  him  in — Mr.  Van 
Acstyne,  it  was  supposed,  misunderstanding  his  friend, 
proceeded  directly  up  the  lake,  to  the  very  spot  where 
the  Indians  were  then  assembled,  who  with  their  toma¬ 
hawks  instantly  despatched  him  ;  after  which  they  follow¬ 
ed  the  two  survivors,  in  an  old  canoe,  two  or  three  miles 
down  the  lake,  but  being  unable  to  overhaul  them,  they 
discontinued  the  pursuit. 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Marietta  to  his 
friend  in  Washington,  dated 

“  Marietiq,  March  4,  1793. 

“  About  eight  weeks  since,  two  brothers  by  the  name 
of  Johnson,  one  12,  the  other  9  years  old,  were  playing 
on  the  western  bank  of  Short  Creek,  about  twelve  miles 
from  Wheeling,  skipping  stones  in  the  water,— At  a  dia- 


iajtice  they  discovered  two  men,  who  appeared  to  be  set¬ 
tlers,  being  dressed  with  coats  and  hats.-— These  men  tp 
amuse  and  deceive  the  children  (as  they  even  shewed) 
engaged  in  the  same  sport,  advancing  towards  the  boys, 
till  by  degress  they  got  so  near  that  the  children  discov¬ 
ered  them  to  be  Indians  ;  but  it  was  then  too  late  to  make 
their  escape.  The  Indians  seized  and  carried  them  six 
miles  into  the  woods,  where  they  made  a  fire,  and  took 
up  their  lodgings  for  the  night ;  their  rifles  and  toma¬ 
hawks  they  rested  against  a  tree,  and  then  laid  down, 
each  Indian  with  a  boy  on  his  arm.  The  children  as 
may  be  supposed  kept  awake — the  oldest  begun  to  move, 
and  finding  his  Indian  sound  asleep,  by  degrees  disen¬ 
gaged  himself,  and  went  to  the  fire,  which  had  then  got 
low  and  stirred  it  up  ;  the  Indian  not  waking,  he  whisper¬ 
ed  to  his  brother,  who  likewise  crept  away,  and  both  of 
them  went  to  the  fire.  The  oldest  boy  then  observed  to 
his  brother,  “  I  think  we  can  kill  these  Indians,  and  get 
away  from  them”— the  youngest  agreed  in  the  proposal 
cf  attempting  it.  The  oldest  then  took  one  of  the  rifles, 
and  placed  the  muzzle,  which  he  rested  on  a  small  stick 
that  he  found  for  the  purpose,  close  to  the  head  of  one 
of  the  Indians,  and  committing  the  execution  of  this  part 
of  the  business  to  his  brother,  ordered  him  to  pull  the 
trigger  at  the  moment  he  saw  him  strike-  the  other  In¬ 
dian  with  one  of  the  tomahawks.  The  oldest  gave  the 
signal  ;  the  youngest  pulled  trigger— the  rifle  shot  away 
the  lower  part  of  the  Indian’s  face  and  left  him  senseless  $ 
he  then  told  his  brother  to  lay  on,  for  he  had  done  for 
his ;  after  which  he  snatched  up  the  gun  and  ran  ;  the 
boy  with  the  tomahawk  gave  the  stroke  with  the  wrong 
end,  the  Indian  started  on  his  seat— the  boy  found  the 
mistake,  and  turning  the  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  gave 
him  another  blow  which  brought  him  to  the  ground  j  he 
repeated  his  strokes  until  he  had  despatched  him,  and 


then  made  the  best  of  his  way  after  his  brother.  When 
the  boys  had  found  the  path  which  they  recollected  to  have 
travelled  before,  the  oldest  fixed  his  hat  on  a  bush,  as  a 
directory  to  find  the  scene  of  action  the  next  day.  The 
tomahawked  Indian  was  found  near  the  place  where  the 
boys  had  left  him.  The  other  was  not  there  ;  but  was 
tracked  by  his  blood,  and  although  so  weakened  by  his 
wounds,  that  he  could  not  raise  his  rifle  to  fire  at  his  pur- 
t  suers  (the  whites)  they  suffered  him  to  escape  ;  but  it  is 
supposed  he  must  have  died  of  his  wounds.  These  two 
Indians  were  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  the  best  place  for  an 
attack,  which  was  to  have  been  made  by  a  body  of  warri¬ 
ors,  waiting  in  the  neighborhood.’* 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  Colonel  Robertson  to  General 

Washington,  dated 

Nashville ,  Feb.  1,  1793. 

«  Sir— By  accounts  received  from  the  Chickasaw  na¬ 
tion  of  Indians,  we  are  inform'd  that  at  a  grand  council 
of  their  warriors,  it  was  unanimously  determined  to  com¬ 
mence  active  operations  against  the  whites  ;  the  Chero- 
kees  they  expect  Will  join  them.  The  white  inhabitants 
in  this  quarter  are  drawing  together,  and  are  doing  every 
thing  possible  for  their  defence,  but  I  fear  without  some 
timely  assistance  we  shall  all  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  wan¬ 
ton  barbarity  of  our  savage  foes,  who  we  expect  are  now 
on  their  way  to  this  place  to  the  number  of  one  thou¬ 
sand.  Major  Hall  and  his  eldest  son  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
their  fury  two  days  ago,  near  Bedloe’s  Lick.  They  have 
killed  about  twenty-four  persons  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  in  this  settlement,  besides  a  great  number  more 
$iear  it. 

from  Burke  county  we  learn  that  <m  the  11th  instant 


—  174— 


two  men,  a  woman,  and  her  little  daughter,  were  scalp¬ 
ed  at  William’s  Swamp,  on  the  Ogechee  river,  by  a  par¬ 
ty  of  Indians — the  little  girl  (to  deter  them  from  their 
cruel  design)  held  out  a  bottle  of  honey,  telling  them  it 
was  rum,  begging  them  in  the  mean  time  to  spare  her 
life— they  told  her  they  did  not  want  rum,  but  her  hair  ! 
they  knocked  her  down  and  scalped  her,  but  we  are  hap¬ 
py  to  learn  she  is  in  a  fair  way  of  recovery. 

By  a  letter  from  Kentucky,  I  am  informed  that  the 
Indians  have  done  more  mischief  in  that  state  the  pre¬ 
sent  year,  than  for  at  least  four  years  past.  Scarce  a 
boat  can  pass  below  Limestone  but  what  is  attacked  by 
them  ;  six  or  seven  have  been  captured,  some  with  very 
valuable  lading — by  a  prisoner  who  escaped  from  them  a 
short  time  since,  we  are  informed  that  the  Indians  have 
procured  a  boat,  or  rather  a  kind  of  floating  battery,  with 
the  sides  built  high  and  rendered  bullet  proof ;  this  boat 
is  stationed  near  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami.  They 
a  few  days  since  captured  a  boat  in  which  were  a  CapU 
Ashley  and  his  family — a  son  of  the  captain  having 
been  very  spirited  in  the  opposition,  the  savages  imme¬ 
diately  put  him  to  death,  cut  out  his  heart  and  broiled  it, 
which  they  afterwards  devoured  in  the  presence  of  the 
unhappy  father,  who  has  since  made  his  escape  from 
them— a  proceeding  so  barbarous  as  this,  I  have  never 
heard  of  being  practiced  by  the  savages  before*’* 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  General  Clarke,  to  his  Honor  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  dated 

u  Long  Creek ,  Sept.  24,  1793. 

Sir — I  had  certain  information  that  a  man  was  killed 
on  the  14th  near  Greensborough,  by  a  party  of  six  or 
seven  Indians;  and  that  on  the  16th  Col.  Barber,  with 
a  small  party  was  waylaid  by  50  or  60  Indians,  by  whqrri 


—175  — 


three  of  his  party  were  killed.  This,  together  with  a 
variety  of  other  accounts  equally  alarming,  determined 
me  to  raise  what  men  I  could  in  the  course  of  24  hours, 
and  march  with  them  to  protect  the  frontiers,  in  which 
apace  of  time  I  collected  162  men,  chiefly  volunteers, 
and  proceeded  to  the  place  where  Col.  Barber  had  been 
attacked,  where  I  found  the  bodies  of  the  three  men 
mentioned  above,  mangled  in  a  shocking  manner,  and 
after  I  had  buried  them,  proceeded  on  the  trail  of  the 
murderers  as  far  as  the  south  fork  of  the  Oakmulgee, 
where,  finding  I  had  no  chance  of  overtaking  them,  I 
left  it  and  went  up  the  said  river,  until  I  met  with  a  fresh 
trail  of  Indians  coming  in  towards  our  frontier  settle¬ 
ments  ;  I  immediately  turned  and  followed  this  trail  un¬ 
til  the  morning  of  the  21st,  between  11  and  12  o’clock, 
when  I  came  up  with  them.  They  had  just  crossed  a 
branch  called  Jack’s  Creek,  through  a  thick  cane  brake, 
and  were  encamped  and  cooking  on  an  eminence.  My 
force  then  consisted  of  130  men,  30  having  been  sent 
back  on  account  of  their  horses  being  tired  and  lost.  I 
drew  up  my  men  in  three  divisions,  the  right  command¬ 
ed  by  Col.  Freeman  and  Major  Clarke,  who  were  or¬ 
dered  to  surround  and  charge  the  Indians,  which  they 
did  with  such  dexterity  and  spirit  that  they  immediately 
drove  them  from  their  encampment  back  into  the  cane 
brake,  where,  finding  it  impossible  for  them  to  escape, 
they  obstinately  returned  our  fire  until  half  past  four 
o’clock,  when  they  ceased,  except  now  and  then  a  shot. 

M  During  the  latter  part  of  the  action  they  seized  eve¬ 
ry  opportunity  of  escaping  by  small  parties  leaving  the 
rest  to  shift  for  themselves.  About  sunset  I  thought  it 
most  adviseable  to  draw  off,  as  the  men  had  suffered  for 
want  of  provisions  nearly  two  clays,  and  for  want  of  wa¬ 
ter  during  the  action,  but  more  particularly  to  take  care 
of  the  wounded,  which  amounted  to  eleven,  and  six  kil- 


^ — 176 — 

led.  From  every  circumstance  I  am  certain  there  were 
not  less  than  25  Indians  killed,  and  probably  double  that 
number  wounded. — In  short  they  were  totally  defeated, 
with  the  loss  of  their  provisions,  cloalhing,  See.  consis¬ 
ting  of  the  following  articles :  4  muskets,  32  brass  ket¬ 
tles,  and  100  large  packs,  containing  blankets,  match- 
coats,  boots,  moccasofis,  tomahawks,  pipes,  upwards  of 
100  halters  and  bridles,  &c.  from  all  which  I  judge  their 
number  was  fully  equal  to  ours.  Col.  Freeman  and 
Major  Clarke  distinguished  themselves,  and  from  the 
spirit  and  bravery  with  which  the  whole  of  my  little  par¬ 
ty  acted  during  the  action,  I  do  not  believe  that  had  we 
met  them  in  the  open  woods,  we  should  have  been  more 
than  five  minutes  in  destroying  them  all. 

“  While  I  was  on  this  excursion  two  skirmishes  hap¬ 
pened  near  Greensborough,  in  one  of  which  one  man 
was  wounded,  and  in  the  other  six  stand  of  arms  were 
lost,  being  guarded  by  only  two  men,  while  the  rest  of 
the  party  was  gathering  fodder. 

“  I  am,  Sir,  with  the  utmost  respect,  your  Honor’s  most 
obedient,  and  very  humble  servant. 

“  B.  CLARK,  Brig.  Gen . 
w  The  Hon,  George  Mathews ,  Governor  of  Georgia 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  an  officer  in  the  service  of  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  to  his  friend  in  New  York,  dated 

“  Buffaloe  Creek ,  Sept;  27,  1793* 

“  I  left  Fort  Franklin  the  3d  instant,  and  arrived  here 
the  1  lth  in  the  evening,  at  the  house  of  Mr*  Winnev, 
who  informs  ipe  that  upwards  of  four  thousand  hostile  In¬ 
dians  were  now  assembled  at  the  Miami  villages,  and  that 
their  number  was  daily  increasing — Captain  Powel  and 
several  other  gentlemen  o;  a  British  army  dined  with 
me  yesterday>  apd  from  tl  conversation  I  am  perfectly 


convinced  that  the  Indians  are  supported  by  the  British  id 
the  war  against  us — indeed.  Captain  Powel  told  me,  that 
all  the  intentions  of  the  Indians  was  well  known  to  them» 
and  the  Indians  were  their  allies,  and  of  course  they  must 
support  them— he  also  informed  me  that  ten  scouts  of 
hostile  Indians  yvere  then  out  to  strike  on  the  frontiers? 
and  that  they  would  soon  strike  the  Six  Nations*  Some 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  hostile  Indians  passed  here  about  five 
days  ago  on  their  way  to  Canada,  but  what  their  business 
is  I  cannot  learn.” 


CHAP.  XII. 

BEFEAT  OF  THE  INDIANS  BY  GEN.  WAYNE, 

August  20th,  1794. 


Gen.  WAYNE  vro  *re  SECRETARY  of  WAR. 

S  1  Ry 

u  IT  is  with  infinite  pleasure  that  I  announce  to 
you  the  brilliant  success  of  the  Federal  army  under  my 
command,  in  a  general  action  with  the  combined  force  of 
the  hostile  Indians,  and  a  considerable  number  of  the  vol¬ 
unteers  and  militia  of  Detroit  on  the  20ih  August  on 
the  banks  of  the  iVliamis,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  British 
post  and  garrison  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids. 

The  army  advanced  from  Fort  Washington  on  the  15th, 
and  arrived  at  Roach  Dc  Bi  ui  on  the  .S.h.and  the  k9th, 
we  were  employed  in  making  a  temporary  post  for  the 
Teception  ot  ou?  stoies  ai  d  baggage,  and  in  reconnoitr¬ 
ing  h  position  of  the  enemytwho  were  encamped  behnd 
a  thick  bushy  wood  and  the  British  fort. 

A  8  o’clock  on  the  moaning  of  the  20, h,  he  army 
again  advanced  in  columns  agreeable  to  the  standing  er- 


der  of  march,  the  legion  an  the  right,  its  right  flank 
covered  by  the  Miamis— -one  brigade  of  mounted  volun¬ 
teers  on  the  left  under  Brigadier-General  Todd,  and  the 
other  in  the  rear-under  Brigadier-General  Barbee.  A 
select  battalion  of  mounted  volunteers  moved  in  front  of 
the  legation,  commanded  by  Major  Price,  who  was  di¬ 
rected  to  keep  sufficiently  advanced,  and  to  give  timely 
notice  for  the  troops  to  form  in  case  of  action,  it  being 
yet  undetermined  whether  the  Indians  would  decide  for 
peace  or  war. 

After  advancing  about  five  miles,  Major  Price’s  corps 
received  so  severe  a  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  were  seV 
crewed  in  the  woods  and  high  grass,  as  to  compel  them  to 
retreat. 

The  legion  was  immediately  formed  in  two  lines,  prin¬ 
cipally  in  a  close  thick  wood  which  extended  for  miles 
on  our  left,  and  for  a  very  considerable  distance  in  front, 
the  ground  being  covered  with  old  fallen  timber,  probably 
occasioned  by  a  tornado,  which  rendered  it  Impracticable 
for  the  cavalry  to  act  with  effect,  and  afforded  the  enemy 
the  most  favourable  coven  fer  their  mode  of  warfare  ;  the 
Savages  were  formed  in  three  lines  within  supporting 
distance  of  each  other,  and  extending  for  near  two  miles 
at  light  angles  with  the  river.  I  soon  discovered  from 
the  weight  of  the  fire  and  extent  of  their  lines,  that  the 
enemy  were  in  full  force  in  front,  in  possession  of  their 
iavorite  ground,  and  endeavouring  to  turn  our  left  flank  ; 
I  therefore  gave  orders  for  the  second  line  to  advance  to 
support  the  first,  and  directed  Major  General  Scott  to 
gain  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  Savages,  with  the 
whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers  by  a  circuitous  route  ; 
at  the  same  time  I  ordered  the  front  line  to  advance  and 
charge  with  trailed  arms,  and  rouse  the  Indians  fron\ 
their  coverts  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  when  up  to 
deliver  a  close  and  well  directed  fire  on  their  backs,  fo!« 


lowed  by  a  brisk  charge  so  as  not  to  give  them  time  to 
load  again*  or  to  form  their  lines. 

I  also  ordered  Capt.  M.  Campbell,  who  commanded 
the  legionary  cavalry,  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy 
next  the  river,  and  which  afforded  a  favourable  field  for 
that  corps  to  act  in — all  those  orders  were  obeyed  with 
spirit  and  promtitude  ;  but  such  was  the  impetuosity  of 
the  charge  by  the  first  line  of  infantry  that  the  Indians 
and  Canadian  militia  and  volunteers  were  drove  from  all 
their  coverts,  in  so  short  a  time,  that  although  every 
possible  exertion  was  used  by  the  officers  of  the  second 
line  of  the  legion  and  by  Generals  Scott,  Wood,  and 
Barbee,  of  the  mounted  volunteers  to  gain  their  proper 
positions,  but  part  of  each  could  get  up  in  season  to  par¬ 
ticipate  in  the  action,  the  enemy  being  drove  in  the 
course  of  one  hour  more  than  two  miles,  through  the 
thick  woods  already  mentioned  by  less  than  one  half 
their  number. 

From  every  account  the  enemy  amounted  to  two  thou¬ 
sand  combutants,  the  troops  actually  engaged  against 
them  were  short  of  nine  hundred. — This  horde  of  Sava¬ 
ges,  with  their  allies,  abandoned  themselves  to  flight, 
and  dispersed  with  terror  and  dismay,  leaving  our  victo¬ 
rious  army  in  full  and  quiet  possession  of  the  field  of  bat¬ 
tle,  which  terminated  under  the  influence  of  the  guns  of 
the  British  garrison. 

The  bravery  and  conduct  of  every  officer  belonging 
to  the  army,  from  the  Generals  down  to  the  Ensigns, 
merit  my  approbation. 

Lieutenant  Covington,  upon  whom  the  command  of 
the  cavalry  devolved  (capt.  Campbell  being  killed)  cut 
down  two  Savages  with  his  own  hand,  and  Lieutenant 
Webb  one,  in  turning  the  enemy’s  left  flank. 

The  wounds  received  by  Captains  Slough,  Prior, 
Van  Ranselaer  and  Rawlins,  and  Lieutenants  M** 


•p-180— 


#Lenny  and  Smith,  bear  honourable  testimony  of  theif 
bravery  and  conduct ;  in  fact  every  officer  and  soldier 
who  had  an  opportunity  to  come  into  action  displayed 
that  true  bravery  which  will  always  insure  success  ;  and 
here  permit  me  to  declare  that  I  have  never  discovered 
more  true  spirit  and  anxiety  for  action  than  appeared  to 
pervade  the  whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  and  I  am 
well  persuaded,  that  had  the  enemy  maintained  their 
favorite  ground  for  one  half  hour  longer  they  would  have 
most  severely  felt  the  prowess  of  that  corps. 

But  whilst  I  pay  this  just  tribute  to  the  living  I  must 
not  neglect  the  gallant  dead,  among  whom  we  have  to 
lament  the  early  death  of  those  worthy  and  brave  officers, 
Capt.  Campbell  and  Lieut.  Towles,  who  fell  in  the 
first  charge. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  more  than  double  to  that 
of  the  federal  army — the  woods  were  strewed  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  distance  with  dead  bodies  of  Indians  and  their 
white  auxiliaries,  the  latter  armed  with  British  muskets 
and  bayonets.  We  remained  three  days  and  nights  on 
the  banks  of  the  Miamis,  in  front  of  the  field  of  battle, 
during  which  time  all  the  houses  and  ce  v  ..ukids  were 
consumed  and  destroyed  for  a  considerate  .distance  above 
and  below  the  garrison,  among  which  we  2  (he  houses, 
stores  and  property  of  Col.  MhK.EE,  the  British  Indian 
agent  and  principal  stimulator  of  the  war  now  existing 
between  the  United  States  and  the  savages. 

The  army  returned  to  head  quarters  on  the  27ih,  by 
easy  marches,  laying  waste  the  villages  and  cornfields  fop 
about  fifty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Miamis.  It  is  not 
improbable  but  that  the  enemy  may  make  one  desperate 
eifort  against  the  army,  as  it  is  said  a  reinforcement  was 
hourly  expected  at  Fort  Miamis  from  Niagara,  as  well 
as  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  living  on  the  margins  and 
islands  of  the  lakes.  This  is  an  event  rather  to  be  wish- 


— isi— 


ed  for  than  dreaded  whilst  the  army  remains  in  force 
their  numbers  will  only  tend  to  confuse  the  savages,  and 
the  victory  will  be  the  more  complete  and  decisive,  and 
which  may  eventually  insure  a  permanent  and  happy 
peace. 

The  following  is  a  return  of  the  killed,  and  wounded,  and 
missing  of  the  federal  army,  in  the  late  action,  to  wit  : — 

Killed — 1  Captain,  1  Lieutenant,  3  Sergeants,  28 
privates — Total  33. 

Wounded — 4  Captains,  2  Lieutenants,  1  Ensign,  4 
Sergeants,  3  Corporals,  2  Musicians,  84  privates— Total 

1GO. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  most  obedient  and  very 
fiumble  servant, 

ANTHONY  WAYNE.’* 

u  To  the  Secretary  of  War,9’ 

The  following  circumstances,  which  took  place  pre¬ 
vious  to  and  during  Gen*  Wayne’s  engagement,  are 
worthy  of  record. 

At  the  ins-.ant  Capt.  Campbell  was  attempting  to 
turn  the  left- 1 :  -  k  of  the  enemy,  three  of  them  plunged 
into  the  river— two  friendly  negroes  being  on  the  opposite 
side,  and  obsci  aig  the  Indians  making  for  the  shore, 
they  placed  themselves  on-the  bank  behind  a  log,  and  as 
soon  as  the  Indians  approached  within  shot,  one  of  the 
negroes  fired  and  killed  one  of  the  Indians  j  the  other  two 
got  hold  of  him  to  drag  him  out,  when  the  other  negro 
fired  and  killed  another  ;  the  remaining  Indian  got  hold 
of  both  those  dead  to  pull  them  ashore,  when  the  negro 
who  killed  the  first  having  agajn  reloaded  fired  and  killed 
the  third,  and  they  all  floated  down  the  river. 

Another  circumstance  is  also  related,  viz.  A  soldier, 
soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  action,  proceeding  some 
distance  from  the  camp,  met  an  Indian  ;  they  attacked 


each  other,  the  soldier  with  his  bayonet,  and  the  Indian 
with  his  tomahawk  ;  some  of  the  soldiers  passing  by  that 
way  two  days  after,  found  them  both  dead*  the  soldier 
with  nis  bayonet  in  the  body  of  the  Indian,  and  the  In¬ 
dian  with  his  tomahawk  in  the  soldiei's  head. 

The  following  circumstance  took  place  previous  to  the 
action  : — A  Mr.  Wells,  who,  when  very  young,  was  ta¬ 
ken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  had  resided  several  years 
among  them,  had  made  his  escape  and  was  employed  by 
Gen.  Wayne  as  a  spy, — The  day  before  the  action  he 
was  taken  by  the  Indians,  who  determined  to  put  him  to 
death.  Finding  it  impossible  to  escape,  he  informed 
them  that  Gen.  Wayne  had  not  500  men  under  his 

a 

command,  and  did  not  expect  an  attack.  On  hearing 
this,  the  Indians  attacked  G«.n.  Wayne  with  a  confidence 
inspired  by  their  (supposed)  superiority  of  numbers,  and 
were  repulsed  as  before  mentioned.  After  the  action, 
Maj-  Campbell,  (in  whose  custody  the  Indians  had  left 
Wells)  enquired  his  motive  for  deceiving  them  ;  he 
answered,  “  for  the  good  of  my  country."— For  this  he¬ 
roic  action,  he  was  unfeelingly  delivered  to  the  Indians, 
in  whose  hands  it  is  supposed  he  experienced  every 
torture  that  savage  barbarity  could  invent  or  inflict, — The 
circumstances  respecting  Mr.  Wells,  were  related  by  a 
British  drummer  who  deserted  from  the  fort  to  General 
Wayne.  _  x 

A  council  of  Indians  was  held  a  few  days  after  their 
defeat  .by  Gen.  Wayne,  in  which  British  Agents  en¬ 
deavoured  to  persuade  them  to  risque  another  action, 
but  this  they  refused  to  do,  expressing  a  willingness  to 
bury  the  bloody  hatchet  and  return  to  their  homes — their 
loss  they  declared  to  be  200,  and  that  their  whole  force 
at  the  commencement  of  the  action  amounted  to  1500 
Indians  and  80  Canadians.  The  body  of  the  Collet  tor  of 
Niagara  was  found  among  the  slain. 


INNUMERABLE  were  the  instances  of  Savage 
fegt&ar-Uy  exercised  toward  the  defenceless  inhabitants  oC 
the  frontiers,  fro«*  the  year  1783  to  that  of  179 3— we 
have  recorded  but  a  small  number  of  them*  but  a  num¬ 
ber  sufficiently  large,  we  presume,  to  convince  the  read¬ 
er  of  their  enormity — not  until  those  unfortunate  people 
had  repeatedly  solicited  the  aid  of  Government,  did  the 
latter  consent  to  take  up-  arms  for  the  protection  of  their 
defenceless  brethren  when  every  pacific  measure  fail- 
®4ffi«wfa,en  every  proposal  of  peace,  however  just  and  e- 
quitahlep  was  rejected  and  treated  with  disdain— •human¬ 
ity  dictated  that  recourse  should  be  had  to  more  effectu¬ 
al  measures  to  put  a  stop  to  the  .murderous  career  of  m 
unnatural  enemy.— Henqs  the- comfnsncemetit  of  hostil¬ 
ities  by  the  Americans,  and  hence  the  expeditions  of 
Generals  Harmee,  Scott,  Wilkinson,  St.  Clair  and 
Wayne  j— and  although  two  of  the  former  were  defeat¬ 
ed  with- t?o  inconsiderable  loss,  the  glorious  victory  of  the 
latter  brought  about  the  desirable  event— the  enemy  were  . 
taught  thereby  the  superiority  ofl.be  whites,  even .  in 
their  favorite  mods  of  warfare— they  buried  the  hatchet 
and' sued  for  peace,  and  a  Treaty  (satisfactory  to  both 
parties)  soon  fallowed,  to  the  arkfts  of  which,  they 
have  ever  since  and  continue  faithfully  to  adhere* 

The  following  list  of  names  of  the  various'  Indian  na¬ 
tions  in  North-America,  in  1794,  with  ,  the  number  of 
their  fighting  men,  was  obtained  by'  a  gentleman  .(Mr*. 
Beni  a  hi  in  Hawkins)  employed  in  the  above  metiuoned 
Treaty  i!| 

The  Choctaws  or  Fiat  heads,  4500 — Hatches,  Hso— 
Chickasaw*,  750— Cherokces,  2500— Cauba*}  15,i|-~Pi" 
antas,  a  wandering  tribe,  800— Kissqtsocoras.  C oo— 
kashaws,  250— Gughteaoiis,  400— Hikapous*  30u— JJei* 


awares,  300— Shawnese,  300— Miamies,  505— Uppei* 
Creeks,  Middle  Creeks  and  Lower  Creeks,  4000 — Cowi- 
tas,  700 — Alibomas,  600— Akinsaws,  200 — Ansaus,  1000 
— Padomas,  500 — white  and  freckled  Pianis,  4000— Cau¬ 
ses,  1600— Osages,  600— Grand  Saux,  1000 — Missouri, 
3000 — Saux  of  the  Wood,  1800 — Blances,  or  white  In¬ 
dians  with  beard,  1500 — Asinboils,  1500 — Christian  Gau¬ 
zes,  3000— Ouiscousas,  500 — Mascotins,  500 — Lakes, 
400 — Muherouakes,  250— Folle  Avoines,  or  Wildoats, 
350—  Puans,  700— Powatamig,  350 — Missasagues,  wan¬ 
dering  tribe,  2000 — Otabas,  900 — Chipewas,  5000 — Wi- 
andots,  300 — Six  Nations,  1500 — Round  Heads,  2500— 
Algoqums,  3000— Nepisians,  400 — Chalas,  130 — Ami- 
tcstes,550 — Muckniacks,700— Abinaguis,  350— Conaway 
Hurins,  200,— Total,  58780. 


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“  Majestic  monarch  of  the  cloud,  To  hear  the  tempest  trumping  loud  When  strive  the  warriors  ofythe  storm,  Child  of/the  sun  hto  thee  ’tis  giv 

Wlio  rear st  aloft  thy  regal  form,  And  see  the  lightning  lances  driven.  And  rolls  the  thunder-drum  of  heaven,  To  guard  the  banner  of  the  free. 


Mara 

saMMi 

SiB 

jjjPP inwTfii?' 

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k'WKSaS' 

Vv? 

Mfflmfirlm 

•  On  the  memorable  \%th  of  August ,  1810, 

Where  Tecumseh  appeared  with  three  hundred  warriors,  and  attempting  an  insurrection,  was  subdued  by  the  presence  of  mind  and  courage  of  Harrison. 


DATE  DUE 


DEC  i 

)  5  7m 

■  ^ 

* 

UNIVERSITY  PRODUCTS,  INC.  #859-5503 

BOSTON  COLLEGE 


9031  027  55706  5 


iiwm 

